Shaking Paper
by andpaperflowers
Summary: AU Brucas, season 4. After Brooke and Luke's break up, Brooke spirals out of control and is abandoned by all of her friends. Peyton is the only one who knows why, and she's keeping it to herself. Major Brucas, minor Naley.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! Here's yet another AU Brucas story (my very favorite kind). Here's the premise of this one: after the Brucas breakup, Brooke spirals downward because of a secret that only Peyton knows. What she needs more than anything is her friends, but she seems to have lost them all. **

"Look at her," Haley said with disgust as she stood with Nathan, Peyton, and Lucas at a post-basketball party. They were watching Brooke Davis dance on a table seductively, progressively wearing less and less clothing.

"It's disgusting," Peyton agreed. "It's like we don't even know her anymore."

Lucas Scott didn't feel as disgusted as his friends. He felt disgusted at the looks his ex-girlfriend was receiving from lewd men, but he wasn't disgusted with her. If anything, he was afraid for her. The glassy look in her eyes and the way she was moving indicated that she wasn't drunk; there was something else happening with Brooke, but ever since their break up a month before, she had frozen him out. At first, Haley had explained to him that spending all of his time with Peyton was what was hurting his case. But soon, he had grown tired of what he saw as her games and he gave up. When he gave up on Brooke Davis, it seemed that everyone else had, too. Peyton had abruptly halted her efforts at repairing their friendship, and Nathan and Haley had ceased their efforts to spend time with her. The couple had even taken to ignoring the once beloved brunette due to her wild child behavior. Soon enough, Brooke Davis was the one thing that Lucas knew she feared; she was completely and utterly alone.

Her hazel eyes locked on his and she faltered for a moment, the hem of her shirt halfway up her stomach. For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of pain cross her face, but if it did, it was fleeting. In just seconds the blank stare returned and her shirt was over her head, leaving her in just a black lace bra.

"There's nothing to see here!" came a determined voice. "Move along!"

The men surrounding Brooke seemed to ignore it, but her eyes became undoubtedly grateful as Mouth McFadden reached up a hand and pulled her off of the table into his arms. Lucas felt a flood of jealousy fill him as he watched his friend put his jacket around the brunette, leading her toward the bathroom.

"Maybe we should check on her," he suggested.

"Luke, it's over," Peyton said, her voice laced with pity. "She's gone out of her way to prove that to you."

Haley sighed sadly. "I just really thought we knew her better than this, you know? What did Rachel say about that night at that club?"

"She said Brooke had a threesome in the men's bathroom," Peyton said with a wrinkled nose. "And that was only a week after you two broke up."

Lucas sighed. He had heard this story many times, when his friends were trying to convince him that Brooke was no good, that she had obviously fooled them all and now her true colors were coming out.

Part of him supposed that they were right. The other part of him wanted, more than anything, for them to be wrong. He had truly believed that Brooke Davis was the girl for him, and he the guy for her. They had spent blissful months together, only for it to be abruptly cut short with a dizzying lack of information. When he had gone to Peyton, her best friend at the time, the blonde had promised over and over that she knew nothing of any possible motives that Brooke could have.

"I think I'm gonna go," Lucas said suddenly, taking his keys out of his pocket.

"You haven't been drinking, right?" Haley asked cautiously. He shook his head.

"Not at all," he said honestly. At every party he had attended since his break up with Brooke, he made sure to stay sober, just in case she needed to get home somehow. She would never ask him, he knew that. But he liked to know that he would be capable.

"I've had a couple of beers," Peyton chimed in. "Would you mind taking me home?"

"No problem," Lucas agreed. "Let's go."

He threw an arm around her in what, to him, was a platonic fashion, and led her out of the house, not noticing the hazel eyes that were narrowed in hurt and anger, the numbness finally receding. The brunette spun around and returned to the back bedroom, determined to sink herself back into oblivion.

**Brooke and Lucas**

A knock at Lucas's door very late that night startled him awake, and he went to the door cautiously, opening it with confusion.

"Luke," Mouth panted, struggling to cradle Brooke in his arms. "Something happened, she begged me not to take her to the hospital and you were the only person I could think of."

"What the hell happened?" he asked, letting him in and watching his friend dump Brooke unceremoniously onto his bed.

"Brooke has been really screwed up," Mouth conceded, brushing her dark hair out of her face. It was obvious that this was not the first time Mouth had taken care of Brooke this way. "Ever since you two broke up, she's really gotten out of control."

Lucas forced his features into an indifferent mask. "She didn't want to be with me. She's not my problem."

Mouth looked at him with disgust. "You know, I called Haley before I came here, and she said nearly the same thing. I tried Peyton, too. I knew Brooke would be embarrassed if I brought her to you, but I thought that you, out of all of them, would care."

"Why should any of us? We don't know her anymore."

"Less than a month ago, you were supposedly in love with her," Mouth admonished. "Now she's dead to you? At least now I know where not to go if I need a friend."

"Mouth-"

"You guys are really messed up," he said coolly, struggling once again to haul Brooke into his arms. "Brooke has done nothing but care about all four of you, and you repay her by ignoring her in her time of need. I'll just take her back to my place and figure it out myself."

Mouth was nearly out the door before Lucas dropped his act. "Mouth, wait. Please. Let me help."

Mouth looked at him dubiously. "You obviously don't care."

"It's not that I don't care," Lucas pleaded, watching as Brooke slipped even further from his friend's grasp. "I just don't understand. I think that's the same way that Nathan, Haley, and Peyton feel. We just don't get what happened and she shut us out. That hurt a lot."

Mouth heaved a sigh. "I wouldn't stay if I didn't need help. Look, I don't even know what's going on with her, and I've been doing this with her four to five nights a week. It doesn't usually get quite this bad. The point is, I help her. Whether she wants to tell me what's wrong or not."

"But-"

"Would you do this to Peyton?" Mouth said suddenly and angrily. He had deposited Brooke on the bed once again and sat beside her, running a worried hand over her flushed face.

"What does she have to do with anything?"

Mouth laughed humorlessly. Lucas had never seen him this way, and he supposed it was his experiences with Brooke in the recent weeks that had turned him this way.

"Because you'd always save Peyton, but you'll never care enough to save Brooke."

That set off a siren somewhere within Lucas, and he gritted his teeth. "You don't know anything about that."

"I'm the only person who still talks to Brooke," Mouth said accusingly. "I probably know more about your little triangle than even you do."

"Really," Lucas scoffed sarcastically as he went into the bathroom to wet a handtowel to put on Brooke's head. "And what is that?"

"How about that Peyton told Brooke she still had feelings for you right after you kissed her. Again."

Lucas froze midway through handing Mouth the rag. He blinked, his face suddenly blank. "Excuse me, what?"

"You heard me," Mouth said, snatching the cloth and pressing it to Brooke's forehead. "At Nathan and Haley's rehearsal, she told Brooke she was in love with you."

Lucas felt his blood freeze as he looked at the broken brunette lying on his bed. He and Peyton were going to have a talk in the morning, but Brooke was the important thing at hand.

"What is she on?" Lucas asked, changing the subject quite obviously. Mouth heaved a tired sigh.

"I'm not entirely sure. It could be anything," Mouth said defeatedly. "She doesn't really have a drug of choice, she sort of just does them all depending on her mood. When she's up I'll be able to tell."

"Brooke," Lucas said firmly, gently tapping her cheeks. "Brooke, wake up."

Her pale, hot face didn't even flinch and Lucas felt his heart rate speed up in concern.

Mouth sighed once again and struggled to lift her, half dragging her into the bathroom where he messily lowered her onto the floor of Lucas's shower, turning the water on abruptly.

The cold seemed to work, and Brooke was sitting up, spluttering and coughing.

"What the hell," she slurred. "Where the fuck-"

Lucas appeared in the doorway and her eyes became wide.

"You have some explaining to do, pretty girl," Lucas said softly. Brooke shook her head and attempted to get up to run, but Lucas kneeled down to help her. He lifted her easily, ignoring the wetness that was now sticking to his bare chest, and laid her on his bed. "What did you take?" he asked gently.

"I can't tell you," she mumbled. Her eyes were looking past him, staring at something on the wall, and her hands were trembling. It was terrifying to see her this way.

"Yes, you can."

"You'll get angry."

"No, I promise I won't."

She hesitated before slowly forming the words. "Heroin."

Lucas halted, completely shocked. Where the hell had she gotten her hands on heroin and why wasn't anyone doing anything about it?

"How could you let her do that?" he exclaimed, whirling on Mouth. Mouth sighed heavily and collapsed in Lucas's office chair.

"How could you?" he fired back.

And Lucas was left to contemplate that question as he watched Brooke struggle through coming down.


	2. Chapter 2

Mouth went home at six o'clock the next morning, leaving Lucas alone with Brooke with words of warning.

"Don't hurt her," Mouth said seriously. "She can't handle anymore of you guys treating her like shit. And I won't stand for it."

Despite the fact that Mouth was small and shy, Lucas couldn't help but be intimidated. Mouth obviously wanted to protect Brooke. He would obviously do anything to keep her from getting hurt. Lucas nodded at him and watched him go before turning his attention to the girl laying in his bed, sweating out the drugs she had taken the night before.

She groaned, her eyes fluttering open. They widened slightly as soon as they settled on his face.

"Lucas," she breathed.

"Hey pretty girl," he managed to croak.

"I must still be high," Brooke whispered to herself.

"No, I'm really here," Lucas said gently. Brooke giggled a little.

"You always say that," she pouted. "But you never are."

She reached up a hand and touched his face, dragging him down to kiss him slowly on the mouth. She let out a content sigh and lay back on the bed. "At least I can have you here."

"Brooke-"

"Sh," she hushed, tugging on him to lay beside her. She snuggled into him and held on for what felt like dear life. Within seconds, she had fallen back asleep, and Lucas was left wondering what went through Brooke's drug addled brain when she was high if it meant that she could be with him in her highs.

"Hey Luke, I brought-woah."

He looked up from Brooke to see Peyton standing in the doorway, looking shocked and hurt. "What are you doing with _her?" _

Lucas untangled himself from Brooke to stand. "Mouth brought her here last night. She was really messed up, Peyton. She needs our help."

Peyton looked at her former friend with disgust. "We tried."

Lucas pegged her with a stare. "You can give up if you want, Peyton, but she needs someone. And I'm going to be there for her."

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Peyton asked. "She's over you. You're over her."

Lucas glanced back at Brooke with a tender expression on his face. "Maybe we're not over it. Maybe we've both just been pretending."

He was so wrapped up in Brooke that he didn't see the hurt fall over Peyton's eyes. "You are! But you have a hero complex, and you want to save her. But you can't. She's beyond being saved."

"Like you were when Jake saved you from cocaine?" Lucas shot back. He knew it was a low blow, but it was a valid point, and he watched her features harden.

"Whatever, Lucas. Do what you want. But don't come crying to me when she's torn you to pieces again."

"Wait, Peyton!" Lucas called, chasing her out of the house. She whirled around, looking slightly hopeful. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"Did you-did you tell Brooke you had feelings for me at Nathan and Haley's rehearsal?"

Peyton's face dropped and her eyes went wide. That was answer enough for Lucas, but Peyton still gave him a verbal response. "Um. Yeah, I did."

"How could you do that?"

"I love you, Lucas," Peyton said resolutely, looking him in the eye with obvious determination. "And I wanted to be honest with her this time, so she wouldn't get hurt again like she did before-"

"You had no right!" Lucas burst out. "You had no idea if I felt the same way, which I don't, by the way. You made the decision for me that I was going to leave her for you!"

"Brooke made that decision, too!" Peyton fought back, trying to ignore the pain she was feeling at his rejection. "She knew that we're meant to be together. And even if you don't see it right now because you're caught up in wanting to save poor, defenseless Brooke-"

Lucas laughed humorlessly. "Brooke has never been defenseless in her life."

Peyton's face took on an expression that Lucas couldn't quite place, and he knew that she was hiding something. "That's what you think."

"Brooke is strong," Lucas spat. "Stronger than you. And god, she loved you enough to walk away from me for you. And you let her. You have a lot of nerve, Peyton, to run around talking about how pathetic Brooke has been acting when you're the pathetic one."

"Lucas-"

"No. You should have told me when I came to you after the breakup. It's too late now, Peyton. Whatever screwed up thing has been going on between the two of us without me even knowing about it, it ends now."

With that, Lucas stormed back into his room, slamming the door and startling Brooke awake once again.

"Lucas?" she asked, and she seemed more aware this time. She sat up quickly, adjusting her clothes nervously. "What am I doing here?"

He simply stared at her, beginning to understand for the first time just how broken she had become. Her usually lush hair looked stringier, hanging limply over her shoulders. She had become extremely thin, her bones putting obvious pressure on her skin. Her eyes were sunken in to her face, and her inner arms had bruises from the needles she was using. He felt tears start to spring into his eyes just looking at her, but he swallowed them down.

"Brooke, what's going on with you?" he finally managed to choke out. "What happened to you?"

She only allowed him an instant to catch her looking vulnerable before she put her mask back on. She pinned him with an unfeeling gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just having fun."

"Fun," Lucas repeated blankly. "Brooke, I know that this isn't your idea of fun."

She stood from the bed, wobbling at first but regaining her footing. "You don't know me at all, Lucas."

"Yes, I do."

"You really don't," she repeated, and when his eyes met hers again he found himself believing her. He had always thought that he knew more about Brooke Davis than anyone else, but now he was finding himself completely in the dark. He knew nothing.

"Why didn't you tell me about what Peyton said to you?" he asked, knowing he had to get it out of the way while she was still standing there.

"It doesn't matter," she shrugged. "You still ended up with her anyway."

"No, I didn't!" Lucas exclaimed. "I'm not with Peyton. I've never wanted to be with Peyton."

"Other than when you were with me, you mean," she hissed, searching the floor for her shoes.

"Brooke, you know what I mean. I love you, not Peyton."

"Where have I heard that before?" she muttered sarcastically.

"Brooke, please."

"No," she growled, turning on him. "Just stay away from me Lucas. I don't know how I wound up here, but I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Brooke!"

She was all ready storming off down the street, and he watched powerlessly. Sighing, he went back into his room to call Haley. He wasn't going to let Brooke go so easily this time, and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to do this alone.

**So now it's out about Peyton and Brooke, but what else is Peyton hiding? Find out soon! **


	3. Chapter 3

"Brooke!" Haley shouted across the quad a week later. It had been a week since anyone had seen Brooke; after the brunette had fled Lucas's house, the blonde boy had called a meeting for those who cared about Brooke. Despite Haley's initial reluctance, she knew that Brooke needed her, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she needed Brooke.

"What?" Brooke snapped, whirling around. Haley nearly gasped at Brooke's appearance. Her dark hair was in messy waves, her eyes lined in thick black. She wore a white tank top and a pair of torn black jean shorts, garter belts holding up a pair of black floral mesh tights. On her feet were black boots, unlike anything the old Brooke David would have even glanced at.

"I was thinking we could catch up later," Haley said gently. "It's been a really long time."

Brooke pegged her with a cool stare. "And whose fault is that, Haley?"

Haley sighed. "I know, it's mine. But I want to make it up to you. Let's get some lunch after school, on me."

"I can't after school. I have things to do."

Brooke turned to leave, but Haley stopped her with a short tug on the wrist.

"Like what?"

"My dad wants me home," Brooke said numbly. Haley watched as the brunette's eyes fell to the floor, suddenly looking haunted.

"Your dad is back?"

Brooke nodded shortly. "He came back right before your wedding. Are we done playing twenty questions now or can I go?"

"I'd really love to spend some time with you," Haley persisted. "Is there any way you could hang out later maybe?"

"I'll see what I can do," Brooke finally mumbled after several moments of thought.

"Great," Haley said, attempting to smile brightly. "I'll hold you to that."

"Wonderful," Brooke murmured sarcastically. "See you later."

"Bye, Tigger!"

Brooke tensed for a moment, a strange emotion crossing her face. "Later."

Haley watched the brunette strut away and sighed, running a hand over her face. "God Brooke, what is going on with you?"

"Talking to yourself babe?" Nathan asked, kissing her on the cheek. She sighed once again.

"I just talked to Brooke. You grew up with her; do you know anything about her dad?"

"No one really does," Nathan shrugged. "He was never around, even when we were kids. It was mostly just Victoria and Brooke, not that Victoria stuck around much either."

"Apparently he's back," Haley said. "And it seems like something weird is going on. When she brought him up, she had this…look in her eyes. I'm worried."

"Did she agree to spend some time with you?"

"Sort of. She said her dad wanted her home."

"Where does her dad even live?" Nathan asked. "Before the big blow out, she was living with Peyton."

"She must have moved in with her dad afterward," Haley shrugged. "I'm going to find out where he lives."

"I'll help," Nathan nodded. "Maybe we can just drop in, that way we can see what's up."

"Good idea," Haley smiled.

"What's a good idea?" Peyton asked as she and Lucas approached.

"Nothing," Haley said, just as Nathan said, "We're trying to figure out where Brooke's dad lives".

"Why would you want to know that?" Peyton asked, her brow furrowed.

"Apparently Brooke is living with him," Haley explained. "And when I talked to her and she mentioned him, she looked really upset. I want to see what's going on."

Peyton rolled her eyes. "He's probably just mad at her because his daughter's turned into a complete crack whore."

"Says the girl who snorted coke at sixteen," Haley spat.

Lucas, Peyton, and Nathan all looked at her with wide eyes. Haley shook her head.

"I'm sick of listening to you talk about her like that when she's obviously in pain," Haley argued. "There's something going on, we all know there is. And after that stunt you pulled with telling her you had feelings for Lucas, you really have no right to be saying bad things about her."

"Look, I know her better than any of you," Peyton insisted. "And I know when there's something actually wrong with her. Nothing's wrong. She's acting out, probably to get your attention. She wants you guys to all think she's some victim so that you'll stop hanging out with me."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Nathan mumbled. Peyton glared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Lucas simply stood silently before getting back to the matter that was swirling in his head. "Wait, when did her dad come back?"

"Right before our wedding," Haley answered.

"That makes no sense," Lucas mumbled. "Why didn't she tell me that?"

"Exactly!" Peyton exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Why are we even worrying about this? She's out of all of our lives."

"You can make that decision for yourself, but don't make it for me," Haley hissed. "I'm sick and tired of the Peyton Sawyer show. Brooke was the only person there for me when you turned your back on me. Now it's my turn to be there for her."

Nathan looked at his wife with pride. "Brooke has been the most consistent friend out of all of us. She deserves our help."

Lucas looked at him gratefully. "Let's figure out where this guy lives and just do some investigating."

Haley and Nathan nodded while Peyton scoffed.

"Have fun, Hardy Boys."

They watched the blonde stalk off.

"Why are you even talking to her?" Haley asked Lucas as she left. "I thought you were really pissed about the lying stuff."

Lucas shrugged. "I'm being civil. That's it. She ran into me on my way over to you guys and started walking with me."

Haley nodded. "Okay. Just making sure you're not going to do something stupid. Again."

"Gee, thanks, Hales."

"I have office aid next period," Nathan said suddenly. "Any change of address of Brooke's legal guardians will be on her attendance file. I can find it there and we can head over after school."

"Perfect," Haley beamed. "You're so smart."

"Nah," Nathan smiled, bending down to kiss her. Lucas rolled his eyes to hide the jealousy he was feeling; it wasn't long ago that he and Brooke had been that way. All he could do now was pray that he and his friends were going to be able to dig Brooke out from under whatever was crushing her.

When the day was over, the three friends met near Nathan's car in the parking lot. Nathan was holding a slip of paper. "I got the address and looked up directions. Let's head over now before Brooke gets there. It's in an interesting part of town."

"Interesting?" Lucas asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"You'll see," Nathan said cryptically, getting behind the wheel.

It was a nearly fifteen minute drive, into a remote part of the outskirts of Tree Hill.

"What the hell is he doing living out here?"

"Has Brooke ever mentioned what her dad does for a living?" Nathan asked. When both Haley and Lucas shook their heads, Nathan sighed. "Yeah, she never has to me either. He did a few business deals with Dan. I kind of think this guy is sketchy."

"You think?" Haley asked sarcastically as they pulled off to the side of a very large driveway that was mostly obstructed by trees.

It lead to a Civil War era mansion, the door and shutters painted black. Some of the paint was peeling, and it was obvious that the building was worse for wear. There were roughly eight cars parked outside, a couple of bulky men in suits standing outside of the front door.

"What the hell?" Lucas murmured, leaning forward.

"Let's just stay here," Nathan said. "They can't see us, but we can at least see the outside. There's no way we're getting in."

Brooke's car suddenly sped past, music blaring from the windows. She was smoking a cigarette and looked extremely agitated. The music was unlike anything Brooke usually listened to. There was no bubblegum pop, simply angsty guitars and a lead singer who sounded near tears.

After she parked her car, it was several moments before she got out. Slowly, the door opened, and she appeared to steel her resolve before she rose out of the car, stomping her cigarette into the ground.

"Miss Davis," one of the men called to her. "You're late."

"Yeah, whatever, Vince."

"Are you sassing me?" the man grunted.

"Sure am, meathead," the brunette hissed.

"You know your father doesn't like it when you're late. You're needed for another…transaction."

Brooke took a step back toward her car, looking like she wanted to get back in and drive away.

"Okay," she said quietly, so softly that the occupants of Nathan's car could hardly here her. "I'll be right there, okay?"

He nodded shortly and Brooke looked through her purse desperately, pulling out her cell phone. She typed on it furiously. As she began to walk somewhat shakily toward the house, Haley's phone beeped. She gasped, eyes wide. "It's a text from Brooke."

**Hey Haley, I can't meet up at all today. Maybe some other time. **

"Something bad is happening in there," Lucas growled. "We can't let her stay here."

"What can we do?" Nathan argued. "Do you see those guys? This looks like a mob front."

"You don't think…" Haley began, trailing off.

The Scott brothers exchanged a solemn look before nodding.

"I think so. And we need to get her out," Lucas said seriously. Haley looked him in the eye and nodded determinedly.

"Okay. Let's get back to our place. It's time to plan."


	4. Chapter 4

Nathan, Lucas, and Haley stood in Dan's office an hour later, rustling carefully about his files.

"If Brooke's dad is as weird as he seems, I don't think there would be a record of any kind of business transaction," Haley said dubiously.

Nathan shook his head in disagreement. "Dan would never do any kind of deal without something signed, even if its signed for something else. He likes to have blackmail. He'd never settle for less."

"I think I found something," Lucas said, holding up a contract of some kind. "Brooke's dad's name is Richard, right?"

"Yeah," Nathan said, walking over to read over his brother's shoulder. "I don't really get what all of this mumbo jumbo means."

"Here," Haley snapped, holding out a hand. The boys handed it to her and she eyed it carefully. "What this contract essentially says is that Richard Davis and Dan are in some kind of business partnership. It says "investment in the business and person of Richard Davis" in here, but that's not exactly specific."

"That's enough for me," Nathan said. "I know Dan. I know how his mind works and the way he phrases things. Look, I don't want to jump conclusions, but I honestly think that Brooke's dad is involved in organized crime. And that Dan gave him money for something."

"But what?" Haley asked, confused.

"That's what we'll find out," Nathan said with a shrug. "When we go undercover."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Are you crazy? You saw that house. There's no way three high school kids are going to be able to go undercover in there."

"What if we somehow get Brooke to invite us in?" Lucas asked.

Haley shook her head. "That will never happen. It's obvious that no one else can get in there. Her father would never allow it."

"Here's what we do," Nathan said. "We stalk Brooke."

"What?" Lucas spluttered.

"We tail her. All the time. We know where she is at all times. And as soon as she's away from the house alone, we tell her that we know something is going on. We stay vague and let her admit it to us herself. Then we'll figure out how to help her from there." 

Haley bit her lip. "I don't know. That seems like a long shot."

Lucas disagreed. "I think Nate's right. If Brooke thinks we all ready know, she won't lie to our faces about it."

"That's true," Haley said finally. "Okay. Let's do it. God, I cannot believe I'm going to stalk my best friend."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Nathan inputted. "It's Friday. There are tons of parties going on this weekend, and we know that's exactly where we'll find her. Get her alone at one of those and we're golden."

"That sounds a little better than stalking," Lucas said. "And it sounds like us getting caught by those beefcakes on her porch is less likely, too."

Nathan nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here before Dan gets back. I'll find out from Tim what's going on tonight."

"Nah, I'll call Mouth," Lucas said. "He'll know for sure what party Brooke will be at."

The three set off in Nathan's car as Lucas dialed Mouth, finding out what Brooke's plans were for the night.

"She's meeting me at Rachel's for a party," Mouth admitted reluctantly. "Why do you want to know?"

"We just want to see her," Lucas assured. "We want to show her we're still here. We're not giving up on her, Mouth."

He heard his friend sigh in relief over the phone. "Good. But if she goes crazy tonight, she's all yours."

Lucas smiled slightly. "I'll take care of her tonight, Mouth. You take the night off."

"Well, I'll still be there," Mouth said. "But you get the post-party Brooke."

"Sounds good," Lucas chuckled. "See you later, Mouth."

"Rachel's?" Haley repeated with a wrinkled nose. "Ugh."

"I know you're not a fan," Lucas said, "but her and Brooke seem like they're friends now, and I think she might be able to help us too."

"She probably got her the drugs to begin with."

Neither Scott brother could argue that her point was completely invalid as the three pulled up to Nathan and Haley's, ready to strategize their plan for the night.

When night came, they were ready. As they pulled up to Rachel's, they saw Brooke's blue bug at the end of the street. She was sitting on the hood, taking slow drags off of a cigarette, her eyes closed.

"Not now," Nathan said, stopping Haley from approaching Brooke. "Give her some time to get in there."

Haley nodded but watched with sadness on her face. Brooke was obviously struggling. She had changed her clothes, now wearing a black tank top, a short red chiffon skirt, and black fishnets. Her lips were a deep ruby red, her eyes still lined in her heavy makeup.

"She looks unrecognizable from here," Lucas mumbled. It was hard to see his Cheery look so very dark.

"I know," Nathan sighed. "Who knew Brooke would ever go black?"

"Hey guys," Mouth greeted, standing beside them, his eyes also trained on Brooke. She was so occupied with her cigarette that she didn't even notice them. "Weird, isn't it? She doesn't even move the same."

"Mouth, do you have any idea at all what's happening?" Haley asked. "We think it has something to do with her dad, but we're not sure of the specifics."

Mouth shook his head. "Her dad leaves most weekends, on business trips, so she usually sneaks into my room with me at night. She's always gone before the morning. But I know she hates it there during the week. One night when she was really messed up, she started crying and asked me to run away with her. She wants out of whatever is going on, but when I asked her about what was happening, she ignored me."

"We're going to figure it out," Lucas said, clapping him on the back. "We'll save her, Mouth."

Brooke's eyes suddenly snapped open wide, locking on them. She stomped out her cigarette and strode toward them, a serene smile on her features.

"Didn't expect to see you here," she said in her raspy voice.

"We thought we'd go out tonight," Haley said brightly. "Besides, I figured you'd be here and thought we could maybe do that catching up we talked about earlier."

Brooke tilted her head to the side a little. It suddenly occurred to all of those talking to her that she was on something all ready.

"Did I see you today?"

"Yes, Brooke," Haley said firmly. "Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm lovely," Brooke beamed. She put her arms out at her sides, spinning around. "Absolutely lovely!"

"You don't look it," Nathan said, his brow creased in concern.

She looked wounded. "I don't look lovely?" 

"That's not what he meant," Mouth jumped in. "He meant you don't seem like you're doing lovely. But you look beautiful, Brooke."

And the fact was, she did. Even with the rings of black around her eyes and her lips stained red, wearing edgy clothes and combat boots, she was still Brooke Davis. And Brooke Davis would always be undeniably gorgeous. She certainly pulled off the look.

She was grinning again, kissing Mouth full on the lips. "Thanks, baby."

She skipped off, leaving his friends to stare at him. "She does that sometimes," Mouth groaned. "Sorry, Luke."

"It's fine," he said shortly. He tried to pretend it didn't bother him, but deep down, it did. Brooke was supposed to be his. He was supposed to save her. But Mouth was the one comforting her at night, being asked to run away with her. He was the one getting kissed by her, he was the one who could brighten her face with a simple compliment. Was Brooke in love with Mouth? It was obvious that Mouth had feelings for Brooke; he had since middle school, much like Lucas had previously felt about Peyton. Only when Lucas got to know his fantasy, she fell short. When Mouth got to know Brooke, she exceeded his every expectation. That's how Brooke was; you would think she was one thing, but she would somehow turn out to be even better than you had imagined.

"Let's go find her," Nathan suggested in the tense silence. "She moves fast."

Sure enough, when they went inside, she was about to place something onto her tongue. Mouth quickly snatched it from her palm, leaving her pouting.

"You never let me have any fun."

"You look like you've all ready had enough fun," Mouth said sternly. "Come on, Brooke, just take a little break, okay?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" she said, suddenly dark. "I'm taking a break from life, Marvin."

"Why do you need a break from life?" Haley asked, sitting beside her on the couch. Brooke shrugged, running a finger around the rim of her red cup.

"I just do. Doesn't everyone?"

"Yeah," Nathan agreed. "I think we all feel that way at some point. But I'm not sure your breaks are healthy for you, Bee."

Her eyes snapped up to stare at him as he uttered the nickname from their childhood. "You remember that?"

"Of course I do," he smiled kindly. "I called you that because you were always buzzing around everywhere."

"Yeah," she whispered softly. "It was easier then."

"It could be that easy again," Nathan said, looking her in the eye. She held his gaze for a moment before snapping her eyes away suddenly and standing.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," she grinned. "I'm going to go mingle for a while."

The friends exchanged a glance as they watched her walk off. She reached into her purse and undeniably popped something into her mouth.

"She's glad you guys are here," Mouth said suddenly. They all looked him doubtfully. "Really. She is. This is about as happy as she gets these days."

Haley blinked back the tears that were building in her eyes. She was going to save her friend. This was all going to be okay. She glanced over to see Lucas looking extremely tense. She could only imagine what he was going through.

"What are you guys doing here?" Peyton asked, her voice obviously puzzled.

"I could ask you the same thing," Haley replied, disinterested.

"I came because I felt like it," the blonde shot back. "Are you guys seriously following Brooke around trying to get her to talk to you?"

"She is talking to us, as a matter of fact," Lucas snapped, having had enough. "If you don't want to help her, that's fine, but we're going to. So just stay out of it."

"You know?" she asked, her eyes nervous.

Just as the boys were about to ask what she was talking about, Haley crossed her arms confidently. "Yes. We do."

Peyton trapped her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Oh."

"I can't believe you would act like it's nothing," Haley nearly shouted, leaving her husband and best friend extremely confused and simultaneously impressed with her acting abilities. "She needs you right now. Especially because you knew all along!"

"Brooke's been dealing with this for a long time," Peyton defended. "She'll be fine. She doesn't want help. Trust me, I have tried."

With that, Peyton left, leaving the friends even more confused than before.

"I was hoping she'd slip," Haley huffed. "But now we know she knows something."

"All we need is to search her art," Lucas suggested. "Whatever is going on, I'm sure she's drawn it."

"Hey guys," Brooke slurred suddenly, stumbling up.

"Brooke, can I talk to you? Alone?" Lucas said softly, watching her carefully. He watched a strange emotion cross her face. She nodded and lead the way into a back bedroom. Lucas faced the wall for a moment, running a hand over his face to prepare himself for what he wanted to say. He heard a strange noise and turned to see Brooke, with a cloth between her teeth, quickly stick herself with a needle. She hissed in a breath and shoved the syringe back into a little leather bag, which was then stuffed into her purse.

"Brooke!" Lucas exclaimed, walking toward her quickly. She flinched back a little and rolled her head back, removing her tank top and reaching for her bra.

"It's easier this way," she whispered. "Especially if it's going to be you."

"Brooke, what are you talking about?" Lucas asked worriedly. He reached for her hands, pulling them away from her bra and placing them in his own. "Pretty girl, what are you doing?"

"This is the part where I fuck you," she mumbled messily, head lolling forward. "Right? That's what's going on?"

"No, Brooke, that's not what's going on," Lucas insisted. "I know you don't want to hear this. You made that pretty clear. But I love you, Brooke. And I would never do anything with you when you're in this state of mind, you don't know what you're doing when you're like this."

Brooke gave him a haunted smile. "I wish that was true."

"Brooke," Lucas said seriously, putting his hands on her face to keep her looking at him. "I promise you, whatever it is that's driving you to this, I can take it all away. I can fix it for you, baby, I promise."

She giggled, and the sound nearly gave Lucas chills. "No, you can't. You can't fix it. And you can't fix me. I'm broken."

"You don't have to be."

"Yes I do. You don't understand."

"Because you won't let me," Lucas groaned. "Please, Brooke. What are you running from?"

"Everything," she said cryptically, focusing her eyes on the wall behind his shoulder. "Just take me somewhere."

"Where, Brooke?" Lucas asked, desperately forcing her to look at him. "Where do you want me to take you?"

She shrugged. "Anywhere. Anywhere but here. Please."

"Okay," Lucas said simply. "Okay. Let's get your shirt back on. Come on, pretty girl."

He helped her get her tank top back on, wincing as he got a better look at how thin and bruised she was. She stood sloppily, leaning heavily into his side, arms around his waist. Her head lolled forward. Suddenly she was separated from him. Someone had tugged on her arm, pulling her away.

"Peyton, what are you doing?" Lucas snapped.

"I need to talk to her," the blonde snapped back.

"What?" Lucas asked, puzzled, staring in confusion as Brooke willingly placed her arms around Peyton's shoulders instead.

"It's complicated."

Peyton mumbled something to Brooke, who followed her a few feet away. The girls had a slightly heated conversation, and Lucas was able to hear bits and pieces.

"Brooke, I can't keep doing this," Peyton pleaded. "They know, Brooke. Let us do something about this."

"You remember last time," Brooke hissed. "I will not let that happen again. Besides, you and I are barely friends."

Peyton shook her blonde curls. "You don't want me in your life, I get that. But like it or not, I'll always be your friend."

Brooke nodded slowly. "I'll figure it out, Peyton."

"Okay," Peyton sighed. "Are you going with Lucas?"

"Yeah," Brooke mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"Jesus, Brooke, don't be sorry," Peyton exclaimed. "But tell him the truth. Tell him what's been going on here. Or I will."

Brooke nodded and stumbled back to Lucas.

"Take me away, Broody."

"Okay, babe. You're safe now, okay?"

"I hope so."


	5. Chapter 5

Lucas and Brooke pulled up to the beach twenty minutes later. The brunette giggled happily, bouncing onto the sand but falling sloppily to the ground.

"Crazy girl, what are you doing to my heart?" Lucas asked her, watching her messily create "sand angels".

"Remember last time you said that?" she asked, looking up at him. He was stunned by how young she suddenly looked.

"Yeah," he smiled gently. He sat down beside her, watching her wiggle around. "You're pretty silly, Brooke."

"I know," she laughed. "I'd rather be horribly silly than boring and bland, though."

"I don't think boring has eve been used to describe you," Lucas laughed, tugging on the end of her brown hair. She cracked up at this, rolling around. "It's good to see you laugh, Brooke. You seem like you've been having a hard time."

Her laughter slowly died and she looked up at him sadly. "It's been terrible, Lucas."

"So why don't you tell us what's going on so we can help you?"

"I can't do that," she said, shaking her head. "Please, please don't ask me to do that. I can't-I can't handle that right now."

She was upright now, shaking and trembling as her voice steadily rose with panic. Lucas put an arm around her comfortingly.

"Okay, Brooke, I'm sorry. I won't ask again. Let's just keep you calm, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, leaning into him. "This is nice."

"Yeah," he replied. It was nice to have Brooke under his arm again; just not exactly the nicest to have her messed up on all kinds of drugs.

"You guys don't have to worry about me," she said suddenly, breaking the silence. "I'm going to be okay."

"It's hard not to worry about you, Brooke."

"I really will be okay. I always am."

"I know you've never really needed our help, but if you do ever need it, we're always here."

"I know you are," she said with a soft smile. She stood suddenly, giggling again. She spun around, arms spread out wide. She twirled before skipping off toward the water, which she preceded to walk straight into before Lucas could stop her.

"Brooke!" Lucas yelled as he watched her dive under a wave. He sighed, stripping off his sweatshirt and T-shirt, diving in after her. He locked his arms around her small waist, pulling her toward him. "Come on, crazy, you're going to get pneumonia."

"And we're both going to get pneumonia, but if you need to hear why I love you, I can go on all night!" Brooke shouted, throwing her arms around his neck. He chuckled slightly, allowing himself to be amused by her childish antics.

"I still could," he said seriously. She pulled away from where her head was resting on his shoulder, looking him in the eye. It was the only time in weeks he had seen Brooke's fire return to her eyes. She suddenly pressed her lips to his in a slow kiss.

"You did pretty good," she winked, untangling herself from him and wading out of the water. He followed after her, both bemused and confused.

**Shaking Paper **

The next day, Lucas stood in Peyton's room, rifling through her art. He had spent the night at the beach with Brooke, but it was impossible to get anything out of her. She was too out of her head to function, and she had been gone from his bed when he awoke in the morning. He had been hoping that she would eventually cave and tell him, but it didn't seem to be the case. He finally found something in Peyton's drawers that seemed valuable.

It was a comic strip of Brooke and Peyton. Both girls were distraught. Brooke's character was saying, "You're not my friend, Peyton. But if you care for me at all, you'll do this." Peyton was saying, "Brooke, please, let us help you. We can." Brooke's next box read "Pretend to hate me. Pretend that you have no idea what's happening to me. Do whatever it takes to keep all of you out of this." Brooke's character then turned her back on Peyton's, who stared after her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Peyton demanded as she entered her room, snatching it out of her hand. "That's my personal shit, Lucas."

"What does it mean?" Lucas shot back. "What are you and Brooke hiding?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Peyton said, crossing her arms defensively. "Brooke and I don't speak. You know that."

He pegged her with a stare. "You just pulled her aside last night. I read that comic, Peyton. What the hell is going on?"

The blonde ran her hands over her face, taking a shaky breath. "It's not my place to tell you. Brooke doesn't want you guys to know. I wouldn't know either, if it wasn't for something that happened years ago."

"Peyton, you need to do what's best for Brooke," Lucas persuaded. "And what's best for her is us knowing so that we can all do something about it."

"It's a long story, Lucas. There's a lot more to this than you can possibly understand."

"I get that you're trying to protect her and you want her friendship back," Lucas reasoned. "But we have to get Brooke back, Peyton. Even if it means risking betraying her."

Peyton bit her lip, obviously torn in indecision. "Fine. But you cannot do anything about this until all of us have had a reasonable discussion about it."

"Okay," Lucas said, putting out his hand. "Shake on it and everything."

Peyton managed a half smile as she shook his hand. "Get Nathan and Haley here. I can't do this more than once."

Lucas nodded, calling his brother and best friend. After they promised to be there in just minutes, Lucas sat in Peyton's chair and continued to browse through her art. He found one that nearly stopped his heart, of Brooke lying on the floor. Her hair was spread around her head like a dark halo, her lips parted. There was a gun in her hand, and she wore only a bra and underwear. Her body was frail and apparently injured, a gun in her right hand. Around the outside in Peyton's familiar scrawl were the words "make it stop".

"Peyton," Lucas croaked. She glanced at the picture he was staring at.

"God, Lucas," Peyton scolded, snatching it out of his hands. "I told you to cut it out."

"What is that?" Lucas asked, eyes wide.

"What do you think?" Peyton snapped.

"Okay, what's happening?" Haley asked immediately as she and Nathan entered the room.

"Peyton's going to tell us what's happening as long as we don't act irrationally afterward," Lucas explained. Haley and Nathan both nodded, sitting down and looking at Peyton expectantly.

She stood pacing for several moments. "This is really hard to say. I guess I have to start from the beginning. When Brooke and I were fifteen, we were over at her house. You know, the one with the red door. Her dad had this whole wing of the house that we were never supposed to go in. But one day, he wasn't home and he left the outer door locked. Brooke being Brooke wanted to go in, and me being me followed her. When we got in there, we were floored. There was a man in there tied up, and he had a gag in his mouth. He was all bloody. His face was an absolute mess. We screamed and went to run out, but her dad was standing there all of a sudden. He smacked us both, started yelling about how we weren't supposed to be in there and that if we said a word about what we'd seen, he would kill us."

Haley's hand was over her mouth, eyes wide. Both Scott brother's had set, solemn jaws, their eyes serious as Peyton took a deep breath to compose herself as she continued.

"Brooke didn't seem phased by being smacked, but her eyes snapped when he hit me. She lunged at him and he beat her. I've never seen anything so bad in my life. She was screaming but then she lost the energy to scream. I'll always hate myself for just sitting there. Eventually he stopped, practically threw her at me, and told me to get out. I dragged Brooke to her room, and Brooke's mom came and fixed her up a little bit. She never said a word. When I tried to talk to Brooke about it later, she told me to never say a word, even to her. So I didn't, until right before your wedding. Brooke's dad had called my house to say he was moving back to Tree Hill and he demanded that Brooke stay with him. This was before our fight, and so I got the address and kept it. After our fight, I went there to try to find her and talk to her. These burly men outside mistook me for some kind of hooker and they let me in."

Peyton was now choking slightly, her throat thick with tears. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I walked into the room. There were so many drugs laid out on the table, and there was a man bargaining with Brooke's dad. She was sitting next to him, dressed up the way she does now. She looked completely empty. The man her dad was bargaining with pointed at her, and her dad said a few different numbers before shaking hands with him and nodding at Brooke. They disappeared into a back room, but not before Brooke got a good high."

"I stayed, for nearly two hours, hiding out. I finally caught her as she was heading up the stairs. She dragged me outside and explained to me what was going on. Her dad is the head of some kind of drug trafficking mafia type of thing, and when he needs leverage for these other creeps, he sells Brooke. He uses her to spend less money. She does it out of some sick kind of loyalty to him and a fear of being hunted down and killed for knowing and seeing too much. Even though she's his toy, she's also basically Richard's right hand man. She's all he has, and he's all she has. It's the most twisted, disgusting thing in the world. I kept going back, to try to help her. She wouldn't take it. She started screaming at me one day, saying that Richard would just do the same to me, if not worse, and that I needed to stay away. She made me agree to pretend to hate her, to turn you guys against her. She made me promise to pursue Lucas so that he wouldn't be associated with her anymore. And so that's what I've been doing. I've been protecting you guys because that's all I can do to protect her." 

All three occupants of the room were silent as they stared at her.

"I will kill him," Lucas said, his voice low and struggling for control.

"Lucas," Peyton warned. "I told you. Rational."

Lucas shook his head. "How can you be rational about this?"

"Because this is life and death!" Peyton shouted. "Our lives and Brooke's life! If they find out she told someone, she's dead! And so are we!"

"She's right, Lucas," Haley said, standing up to placate him. "We don't know what we're dealing with. Peyton's seen it. She knows better than we do just how serious this is."

"There are guns everywhere," Peyton explained. "And there's at least ten guys in that house at all times, other than weekends. They travel to different cities on the weekends to transport and have meetings. Brooke usually stays with Mouth, sometimes she comes to my house."

"She comes to your house?" Nathan asked, confused.

"We're not what we were, but Brooke knows she can always count on me. And I'm the only one who knows, so she comes to me when it's too bad for Mouth to see."

"What's too bad?" Haley asked cautiously.

Peyton wordlessly held up the drawing Lucas had found earlier. "She came over here high as a kite after her dad forced her to do some pretty horrible things. She had a gun. She laid on the ground and begged me to kill her."

Lucas's heart was pounding in his chest. He sank down to the bed, his head in his hands. Peyton continued, crying now.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to have your childhood best friend beg you to shoot them?"

"Peyton, honey, I am so sorry," Haley said, hugging her tightly. "We'll fix it, together. We'll figure out a way."

"We have to," Peyton sniffled. "Brooke always says it's not possible without someone getting hurt. But I'm willing to get hurt for this."

"So am I," Lucas said determinedly. "Here's the deal, we've got to figure this out. I think we need to tell Brooke that we know."

Peyton looked nervous. "I don't know about that."

"I know you're scared of what she'll do, but she needs to know. Maybe that will up the ante for her, she'll want to get rid of all of this to protect all of us."

"Maybe," Peyton conceded. "It's a Sunday. She'll be at the Blue Post."

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"She works there on Sundays," Peyton shrugged. "She's a cocktail waitress. It's part of her dad's cover. He sometimes uses the Blue Post as a front, so he needs an in."

Haley took a deep breath and grabbed her bag. "To the Blue Post we go."

Nathan hung back with Lucas as they filed out of Peyton's house.

"You okay, man?"

Lucas shook his head. "How the fuck did I let this happen? She was my girlfriend."

"Brooke is good at hiding things," Nathan comforted. "You didn't know. If you had, you would have protected her the best you could."

"Even now, what am I supposed to do?" Lucas said helplessly. "I honestly have no idea how to help her. I promised her I would save her from everything. But I can't."

"We're going to figure it out, together," Nathan insisted. "Look, man, it doesn't have to be just you. You got us all together to help her. Anything we do from this point on is all because of you. You're saving her."

Lucas sighed, running a hand over his head. "I guess. Let's go find her."

When they arrived at the Blue Post, Brooke was leaning against the pool table looking thoroughly unamused.

"Brooke," Peyton said nervously. The brunette looked up, her eyes snapping open wide.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Brooke snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. She wore a white tank top and a pair of tiny torn up teal denim shorts.

"We need to talk to you," Haley said when she realized Peyton was paralyzed by fear of what was going to happen next.

"We found out what's going on," Lucas said gently, taking a step toward her. She stepped back quickly, looking to Peyton accusingly.

"They looked through my art," Peyton whimpered. "I am so sorry, Brooke."

Brooke rolled her hazel eyes. "I should really learn to stop trusting you."

"Brooke, please," Nathan said. "Just let us talk to you. This isn't Peyton's fault. If we hadn't forced her to, she never would have told us."

Brooke sighed, squaring her jaw. "Fine. If you guys want to talk, meet me under the bridge in two hours when I'm off."

Lucas looked like he was about to argue, but Haley cut in. "Okay. We'll see you then."

Brooke watched them go before dashing to the bathroom, where she emptied the contents of her stomach, falling to her knees. She finally allowed herself to succumb to her horrified, mortified tears. How was she going to explain this to them? Especially to Lucas?


	6. Chapter 6

Brooke found herself sitting at the Rivercourt, chain smoking cigarettes as her friends looked as her expectantly. She released a smoky breath as she sighed, flicking her cigarette.

"If Peyton told you what happened, I don't think I have to," she finally said, breaking the nearly five minute long silence.

"I don't know what's been going on lately," Peyton said. "And I don't know what you've been using."

"What I use to escape this hellhole is none of your business," Brooke drawled, taking another drag off of her cigarette.

"Brooke, please. Tell us your side of the story. I need to know," Lucas said, and it was his eyes that stopped her from snapping at him. He really did seem desperate to know. Maybe he was hoping she would say it wasn't true. Something, anything, to make this situation any better. Or maybe he needed to fully understand the extent of what was happening. She took a deep breath and stamped out her cigarette, immediately lighting another one and ignoring Haley's look of blatant disapproval.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning," Nathan suggested with a shrug. "That's usually the best place."

She pinned him with a sardonic glance before she started to talk slowly. "I never really knew what my dad did for a living. Up until recently, even. I'm sure Peyton told you what we walked in on when we were fifteen. That was the first I'd ever seen of my dad being a bad guy. Nathan remembers, my dad and I were close up until I was about thirteen. Then he started disappearing more. We had a lot more money. He and my mom started to fight more, but he was gone so much, and so was she. I hardly noticed."

"Then, of course, they moved to L.A. I later found out that a lot of that had to do with my dad's connections here crumbling. He got into a bad business deal, and that's how we lost everything. But some other organized crime guy offered him a way out in L.A., so they went. My dad rose up the ranks and he ended up taking over, moving back so he could run an operation on the East coast instead."

"I was pretty shocked when he said he was coming back, and that my mom is somewhere out of the country now. Everything was just starting to fall apart, so when he asked me to move back in with him, I did. His house is creepy as hell, so when I pulled up, I knew I was making a mistake. But he's my dad, absentee or not, and I just wanted him in my life. Especially when I felt so alone."

"It wasn't long before the first deal. My dad had basically filled me in on what's been going on. He supplies most of the hard drugs in this part of the country. He still has to get suppliers though, for the raw materials before he cuts it for a profit. He was making a deal with this guy who's basically the heroin kingpin of North America. I wasn't that surprised, especially after what happened with me and Peyton sophomore year. They started arguing about prices and the guy ended up asking for me as part of the bargain, because he'd seen me when he walked in. A couple of my dad's goons came in while I was sitting in my room and dragged me downstairs. My dad didn't even look at me. The guy took me into one of the back bedrooms and explained that if I wanted my dad to stay alive, I was going to have to give him something. What he wanted was me."

"So I did it. The first few times, I was sober. But slowly, it started to eat away at me. I slowly hated myself more and more. Hated my dad more and more. Hated everything more and more. I started using after that; that was the deal. Free drugs from daddy if I would make sure his deals ran smoothly. So I started doing everything I could get my hands on in our house, which is most things. Heroin and coke became my favorites, but PCP, LSD, ecstasy…nothing was off the table."

"Then Peyton found out. So I asked her not to tell you guys what was going on. I told her to pretend that she hated me, so that you might stay away. I convinced her to talk you all into hating me, too. And it worked for a while, until Mouth brought me to Lucas's house. And that's how you all got dragged into this mess."

Her entire speech was said entirely without feeling. Her eyes and voice remained passive and numb throughout the entirety of her description, leaving chills on Lucas's spine. Somehow, he could understand her unfeeling behavior; despite hearing the atrocious details of Brooke's life, he didn't feel a thing. His mind was protecting itself from the emotional damage of actually feeling the reprecussions of Brooke's confession.

"If we all put our heads together, we'll figure something out," Haley suddenly broke the silence. Her voice was straining with the attempt at optimism. "I know that we can. We've gotten through everything together. All six of us."

The silence descended again as they all paused to remember their missing sixth member; Jake had been gone for nearly two months now, and Haley winced as she watched Peyton flinch at the reference.

"Haley's right," Nathan supported. "I mean, all of us have had our shit. It's just never been Brooke that needed help. That doesn't mean we're incapable of helping."

Brooke shook out her head. "None of you were ever in this deep in this much shit."

"I did coke," Peyton offered. "You saw how torn up I was over Ellie, all of that depression-"

Brooke scoffed. "You did coke once. And you were grieving like any other normal person, Peyton."

"Please," Lucas suddenly whispered, and the desperation in his voice caused everyone to freeze and look at him. "Please, Brooke. Let me help you. For once in your life."

Brooke stared at him, trying to avoid his eyes but finding herself completely unable to. As much as she wanted, more than anything, to push him away and leave him out of all of this, she could see how much that would hurt him. No matter how badly he'd hurt her or what kind of horrible things he'd made her feel in the past, there wasn't one tiny part of Brooke that would ever wish bad things on Lucas.

"I know we hurt you," Haley said gently. "I know we should have known better than to fall for you and Peyton's trick, but we're here now."

"The point was for you to fall for it," Brooke shrugged.

"But you probably didn't want us to," Lucas said, his voice full of self-hatred. "We should have known better than that, Brooke. It shouldn't have mattered what Peyton said, we should have known you enough."

Brooke smiled crookedly. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not sure any of you expected anything differently from me. It was no shock that Brooke became a drug addicted whore."

"Yes it was," Haley argued. "We never thought you'd turn out that way, that's why when Mouth brought you to Lucas's we stepped up."

Brooke finally seemed to explode; no one was quite sure what the trigger had been. Maybe there didn't have to be one. She was too frustrated, too lonely, too broken. "Oh come on, Haley! We all play the parts we're handed! I was the funny slut, the comic relief. You got to be the perfect girl. Just the right answers, just the right life, just the right husband. My boyfriend was chasing around my best friend and your husband was following you around like a puppy!"

"Brooke," Peyton gasped.

"Don't even get me started on you, Peyton," Brooke growled.

"Neither of us can really talk," Lucas said to Peyton. The blonde's eyes widened and she stared between Brooke and Lucas as he turned back to the brunette. "Brooke, I'm sorry. There's nothing more that I can do right now other than say that. If you won't let us help, there's no way I can make all of that up to you."

"I don't know if I want you guys to help," Brooke said stubbornly, gluing her eyes to the ground. "I'm just not sure."

"I'm going to fix it," Lucas said, suddenly gaining confidence. He snatched the cigarette out of Brooke's hand and stomped on it, looking her in the eyes with intensity. "Whether you want me to or not, whether you believe I can or not, I'm going to. Because I am the guy for you, Brooke Davis. Even if we're over for good, if we can never get what we had back, I'm going to get you the hell out of this, because you deserve better, Brooke."

With that, Lucas turned and walked away from the Rivercourt, leaving Brooke staring after him, her face blank. Suddenly, it began to crumble and she shakily sat on the bench, the implications of her situation crushing her.

"Brooke," Peyton exclaimed, rushing to her side and putting an arm around her now sobbing friend. "Honey, it's going to be okay. We're going to get you out of this. At the very least, Lucas is."

"He loves you," Haley comforted, kneeling in front of her. Nathan joined his wife, putting his hand on Brooke's knee.

"If I remember correctly, you once told me that you're Brooke Davis and there's not a damn thing you can't do," Nathan said softly. "I still believe that. I think it's time you show your dad that, too."

Brooke simply continued to cry, finally calming down enough to gasp out, "How can he possibly still love me?"

"Sweetie, there's no reason he shouldn't," Haley replied.

"I'm disgusting," Brooke burst out, standing and grabbing at her hair. She gestured at herself desperately. "I'm fucking filthy. I've had the worst kind of men run their hands all over me. I've done horrible things with horrible people. All for what? Drugs? I spend almost all of my time fucked up on something. Right now, I'm high and a little fucking drunk. Lucas has his whole life ahead of him. He has time to find a girl who isn't a whore. Who's smart and pretty and fun and who can actually give him what he deserves. I'm nothing more than a hooker."

"Brooke, none of that is true," Nathan argued, standing. "I can honestly say from a guy's perspective that if Haley ended up in your situation, I would do exactly what Lucas is doing. I would fight for her. I would fix it. Because I would still love her all the same. There's not a thing that a girl can do to make a guy fall out of love with her if they're meant to be together. Like it or not, you guys are."

Haley looked up at her husband with a tender expression, leaning into him. Peyton bit her lip, finally speaking.

"You told me to go after him," Peyton said quietly. "You knew I loved him. You thought he loved me, too. To be honest, I kind of thought so, too. But Brooke, over the last two months, I haven't gotten anything out of him. Not even a date. He hasn't even noticed me. And do you want to know why? Because at every party, he's staring at you looking like he's going to cry. He doesn't drink so that he can be there if you need him. He stopped writing when you guys broke up and he hasn't written since. Like Nathan said, he's it for you. Whether you want him to be or not, or whether you want to be the girl for him or not, that's how it is."

"Running isn't going to make this easier," Haley inputted. "Let us in. Let Lucas in. You don't have to be with him right now. You don't even have to really be our friend, either. Just let us do what we can. Try to trust us."

"I know that's easier said than done," Peyton cut in. "But try, Brooke. That's the one thing you've always done. You have always tried, no matter what."

Brooke nodded feebly, shakily reaching into her pocket and pulling out a cigarette and lighter. "Okay. I'm going to try. This isn't easy, you know. And we can't just get me out of there. This is more complicated than you think."

"I'm sure it is," Nathan appeased. "We'll take our time. As much as we'd like to just run away, we can't. So we'll figure it out."

Brooke nodded, closing her eyes as she took a drag. "I have to get back. We have a major coke supplier coming and my dad is counting on me. Don't talk to me at school. If you do, I'm going to act like I hate you all. Meet me here tomorrow night at ten and we'll start figuring shit out."

The nonchalant way that Brooke said this caused all of her friends to shudder. They watched her go, climbing into her dirty car, and they exchanged a sad look.

"At least we got her talking," Haley sighed, sitting down with her head in her hands.

"She's going to let us help," Nathan was saying into his phone to Lucas. "She had to go back, she's not here. No yeah, something about a coke supplier. I know, man, but we promised her we'd take this slow. She has a lot more to explain. We're meeting her tomorrow night. No. No, Lucas. Just come here, would you?"

Haley and Peyton exchanged a look at the obvious lack of communication between the Scott brothers.

"How you holding up?" Haley asked softly. "I heard what you said about Lucas. That must be hard."

Peyton shrugged. "I thought he was mine, and that's really not fair. He's Brooke's, and I never should have tried to take him from her. She needs him. She loves him and he loves her."

"What do you mean, tried to take him?"

Peyton sighed. "I told her I loved him at your rehearsal. And because he was always saving me, Brooke figured it was a matter of time until he and I got back together. I kind of thought so, too. So she broke up with him, and now look where she is. He would have been able to fix this if I hadn't come between them."

"Does Lucas know?" Haley gasped.

"No," Peyton said. "I thought she would tell him, but instead she lied to him about why she was breaking up with him. It made sense, though, we all know how Lucas loves a good love story and he would be determined to make her stay even if he did like me back."

Haley shook her head. "I'm not going to lie, Peyton, that's really screwed up. And then you played Brooke's little game with her."

"I was trying to make it up to her," Peyton defended. "I would have done anything to make her forgive me."

Haley nodded in understanding. They had a long way to go before things were going to be okay.


	7. Chapter 7

At ten o'clock the next night, Brooke found herself standing in the middle of the Rivercourt, arms wrapped tightly around her waist as she waited for her friends. She cursed herself. Why was she doing this? Why was she putting herself and them through all of this?

"Brooke," Peyton called as she approached. She was alone, and Brooke felt her defenses go down. Despite everything that had happened between her and Peyton, she knew that Peyton would probably take a bullet for her. Sure, it had taken trying to steal her boyfriend for the blonde to figure it out, but Peyton had finally begun to show Brooke how much she valued their friendship. She had even participated in her elaborate cover plot, and had succeeded for quite a while.

"Hey, P. Sawyer," Brooke said, her voice raspy.

"What's with the glasses?" Peyton asked, confused. Brooke heaved a deep sigh and slowly took them off of her face, closing her eyes as Peyton gasped. Her entire right eye was swollen, her skin a purple so deep it was nearly black.

"Don't ask what happened," Brooke said numbly. "It's a long story."

"What the hell?" Nathan asked as he and Haley approached. "Brooke, what happened to you?"

Peyton and Brooke shared a sardonic smile, one of the few times Brooke had actually interacted with her friends in months. "It's a long story," the two girls replied monotonously. Haley and Nathan exchanged a confused glance of their own but dropped the subject.

"Where's Lucas?" Brooke asked, doing her best to sound apathetic.

"He's on his way," Haley explained. "He insisted on bringing some food for you from Karen's. Said you're too thin." 

"Cause she is," Lucas insisted as he walked up, handing Brooke a brown paper bag. "It's that weird wrap thing you like so much."

She managed a small smile. "Thanks, Luke."

He finally noticed her eye. "Brooke!"

"I'm fine, Lucas," she snapped. "Are we going to get down to business or what?"

Lucas shook himself. "Of course. Okay. How are we going to do this?"

"More importantly," Haley interrupted, "what other stuff do we need to know before we come up with a plan?"

"My dad is powerful," Brooke said plainly. "He's bought off the entire police department. Several of them live in our house. Law enforcement might as well be left out of it completely. They're all on his side."

Peyton nodded. "I thought I recognized one of those guys."

"Yeah. He used to do the anti-drug seminars at the middle school," Brooke supplied. "As powerful as he is, there are a lot of people he's afraid of. Mainly his suppliers. Without them, he has nothing. And they all know _everything. _These suppliers are the guys I help out with. I'm usually able to keep them quiet and keep them on my dad's side. They're all liable to snap at anytime."

"Brooke, are you okay?" Nathan cut in, pointing at her shaking hands. She shook them out in frustration.

"Fine. Withdrawals. I'm okay," Brooke sighed, running a hand over her face. "Anyway, I'm followed most of the time. There could be some of my dad's guys here right now. If they ask, I'm going to say I sold you guys some PCP. I need you guys to take these, in case they somehow break into your shit."

Haley's eyes widened as Brooke pulled several bags out of her backpack and began handing them out. "Brooke, we can't take drugs."

"Do you want this to work or not?" Brooke snapped. "Besides, they're placebos. Those things would mess you up about as much as water."

"So you're followed almost all the time," Lucas repeated. "What about at school?"

"You know Mr. Chavez?" Brooke asked. They all nodded. "He's pretty up there in my dad's business."

Nathan let out a low whistle. "Wow."

"Yep," Brooke said in a clipped, business like tone. "So here's the thing; I have no idea how it could work, but I kind of have a plan. About as much of a plan as I'll ever have."

Her friends leaned in, listening intently.

"Lately I've been pretending to take a huge interest in the business. My dad thinks I want to join in on the real deal stuff, not just the backroom compromises. They've been training me with the gun and showing me the ropes of questioning, that kind of thing. If I let them train me up enough, I should be able to use their own tricks against them. My dad will never think that I'm double crossing him."

"That could take a long time," Lucas said. "To train you, I mean. That could take weeks."

Brooke nodded in agreement. "Yeah. That's a risk I'm going to have to take. There's not much I can do before then."

"Why not?" Peyton spoke up.

"Like I've said, I'm watched all the time. It's known knowledge that anyone who gets out only gets out in a body bag."

Haley gasped. "Seriously?"

"The last guy who wanted out is at the bottom of that river," Brooke scoffed. "I'm not even kidding you. Daddy made sure that I played a nice hand in it."

"What did he make you do?" Lucas asked, his jaw clenched. He was keeping his distance, trying his hardest to keep his emotions in check.

"He made him believe that he was being rewarded for good work," Brooke explained numbly. "He sent him into my room late one night. I was all dressed up, the way those kind of guys like it. We kissed for a while, enough to make him comfortable. Then a few of the guys came in and it was all over pretty fast. He was twenty years old, just a fucking kid like us."

Brooke's fidgeting increased. She dug through her backpack, huffing in exasperation.

"What are you looking for?" Peyton asked, going to her side to help her.

Brooke finally pulled out a case of some kind, shaking several pill shaped objects into her hand and popping them into her mouth, swallowing hard. She released a deep breath. "Those."

"DAVIS!" a voice suddenly shouted. Brooke instantly tensed, reaching into her backpack defensively.

"Go," Brooke whispered. Her friends all began to argue. "I mean it. Go over behind the bathrooms if you insist on sticking around."

Her friends scattered reluctantly, doing as they were told. They watched tensely from behind their wall of protection. Lucas could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he banged his forehead on the wall.

"I fucking hate this," he ground out.

"Sh," Peyton hissed. "Don't get her busted."

They watched several male figures approach her.

"What are you all dressed up for, baby girl?" one of them sneered.

"I was making a sale," Brooke replied shortly.

One of the men stepped toward her again. "What kind of goods do you have?"

"Nothing you can afford," Brooke scoffed, hoisting her backup up on her shoulder.

"I hear you're pretty cheap yourself," another man said. Nathan instantly gripped Lucas by the back of the shirt, making sure that his brother wasn't going to ruin everything.

"I hear your dad lost all of his suppliers to mine," Brooke laughed in his face. "Tough luck, boys."

"You think you're some mob fuckin princess?" the third man said, advancing on her. She stood her ground, and her friends felt a swell of pride twinge into their fear as she stood there in her red pumps, glaring down the bulky men.

"I don't think I am," Brooke shrugged. She flashed them a wicked grin. "I know that I am. I run this fucking town and you know it."

"You don't run shit."

"Oh really?" Brooke smirked. "Who do you think sent away your uncle?"

One of the men lunged at her, grabbing her. Nathan tightened his hold on Lucas, as did Peyton.

"She knows what she's doing," Peyton whispered. "I swear. I've seen it."

Peyton was right. Brooke stomped down hard on the man's foot, driving an elbow into his stomach. She reached quickly into her backpack, flipping open a knife and holding it flush against her arm in defense. The second man went to grab her, and she quickly struck him with her arm, leaving a trail of crimson blood in her knife's wake.

"Fuck!" the man shouted. He growled, tackling her to the ground. Brooke grunted, pinning his head between her legs and squeezing tight. She reached her hands onto his head and twisted hard. A loud snap resonated as the night suddenly became silent. She stood confidently, still holding her knife.

"You fucking idiots wanna get your brother some medical attention or do you want another go?" Brooke growled. The men silently began to drag their brother away. Brooke remained in a defensive stance until their black SUV peeled out of the lot. Her friends came running as soon as she dropped her knife and kneaded her hands into her eyes.

"What the hell?" Lucas yelped, instinctively pulling her to him. "What was that?"

To his surprise, Brooke tiredly leaned into his chest. "Those are the sons of my dad's rivals. They like to think that because I'm an only child and a girl that they can push me around."

"Did you fucking stab that guy?" Nathan asked in shock.

Brooke shook her head. "Nah. I just grazed his cheek with it. Enough to hurt and scar but not even to really hurt. I might have broken his brother's neck though."

"Wish you would have used those moves on Nikki," Peyton joked and was pleased to receive a half hearted chuckle from Brooke. She watched as a haze slowly descended over Brooke's eyes. "Brooke, you good? Is it kicking in?"

"Yeah," Brooke whispered, leaning more on Lucas now, who adjusted his arms around her waist to hold up most of her weight.

"What happened to your face, pretty girl?"

Brooke bit her lip but answered, shocking her friends. It appeared she really was trying to let them in. "There's this guy, Paul Walker. He pretty much supplies all of the pure cocaine in the United States. My dad had a meeting with him yesterday. This was a huge one; we make a lot off of coke. I've dealt with him before, so my dad thought it would help us lower the price. We went to the backroom and I did my thing. Walker's always pretty rough but he wanted to prove a point. He wanted to show that he'd lower the price but at a price of his own, I guess. He made sure to smack me around after."

Lucas's hands formed tight fists from where they were wrapped around Brooke's ever shrinking frame. "How the fuck can your dad let this happen?"

Brooke shook her head. "I don't know."

Her shoulders began to shudder, and Lucas's blue eyes went wide. He hadn't seen Brooke's hysterics yesterday and was watching her react emotionally for the first time in months.

"Why can't my dad just love me?" Brooke sobbed, gripping onto Lucas's shirt as she weakened once again.

"It's okay," Lucas soothed, running one hand through her hair. "It's all okay."

"I don't want to go back," Brooke cried. "I can't keep doing this."

"You don't have to go back," Lucas insisted, holding her up. Their friends slowly backed away, allowing him to take control of the situation. "I have an idea, Brooke. I have somewhere we can go for awhile."

She looked up at him, her glassy eyes hopeful. "What?"

"Keith had a really small little house in the canyon. Kind of where Rachel's cabin is, but more in the back country. They won't find you there, Brooke. We can at least hide you out for a while."

Brooke bit her lip again. "I don't know. I don't think it'll work in the long run."

"Let's just deal with right now," Lucas said, wiping her tears off of her face. "We need to get you out of here for now. You're going to die if you keep going on like this, Brooke."

She let out a whimper but nodded, falling back into his arms. He kept an arm around her shoulders as he lead her toward his car, quietly explaining to Nathan, Haley, and Peyton where they were going. He promised to keep in touch before gently getting Brooke into the front seat and starting the car. He watched her lean back into the seat as they drove toward his house to get some supplies for their getaway. Her eyes began to flutter shut.

"Thank you, Lucas."

"Anything for you."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is a pretty quick update, but it's also a short chapter that's primarily a bit of Brucas fluff! Hope you enjoy! **

"Lucas," Brooke said worriedly as they entered the small cabin. "I just realized that I forgot something."

"What?" Lucas asked. "I'm sure I can drive into town really quickly in the morning and grab it for you."

Brooke snorted. "Unless you know a good drug dealer, it's not likely."

"Cheery, you don't need that stuff," Lucas reasoned, reaching out for her. She tensed under his touch but slowly relaxed, closing her eyes.

"Yes I do," she admitted. "You can't just stop once you've started. It's not that easy. In just a few hours I'm going to be sweating and shaking and throwing up."

"Then we'll deal with it," Lucas comforted, slowly pulling her to him. "I'll be with you every minute of it. You're not alone anymore, Brooke. You don't have to hide in that stuff."

Brooke shook her head from where she was nestled under his chin. "It's not that easy, Lucas. We can't hide in this cabin forever."

"I know," he sighed sadly. "But we'll figure something out, Brooke. I'm not going to let this continue."

"I appreciate that Lucas," she said, pulling away from him and busying herself with putting away the food that they brought. "But there are some things that are completely out of your control."

Lucas shook his head. "There's nothing that can't be fixed."

Brooke paused, looking at him with a strange expression on her face. "Do you really believe that?"

"Of course I do," Lucas said gently, approaching her once again. "Nothing is broken beyond repair, Brooke. Not even you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," she said darkly, busying herself once again in the kitchen.

"You're selling yourself short. As usual," Lucas teased, poking her in the side. She yelped and he furrowed his brow, worried. "Brooke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Brooke, are you hurt?" Lucas demanded, trying to pull her tight, strappy black top up. She slapped his hands away, giving him a fiery glare.

"I'm fine."

"Brooke," Lucas said warningly. "You need to show me what's going on. I can't help you if I don't know."

"I don't need your help," she growled, turning to walk away. Lucas heaved a fake deep sigh. He felt horrible tricking her like this, but he had no choice.

"Fine, Brooke. If you're not letting me in, I'm not playing your games. Let's just go back to Tree Hill. I'll drop you off at your dad's."

"No!" Brooke exclaimed immediately, and the helpless, panicked look on her face made Lucas's heart constrict.

"Then show me," Lucas said softly. She crossed her arms in annoyance and stared him down before finally giving in. She slowly lifted the hem of her top, trying to ignore Lucas's sharp intake of breath. Her pale skin was covered in bruises; rough, dark spots caused undeniably by hands and teeth of disgusting men. "Oh my god."

"I know," Brooke whispered sadly. "I'm hideous."

"No," Lucas rushed to say, walking toward her. "You're not hideous. You're still beautiful, Brooke."

"Please, Lucas. You don't have to lie to me. You can just admit that I'm ruined, okay? I still had something going for me, even if I had slept around a little bit before you. But now what am I? A cheap, beat whore."

"Hey!" Lucas insisted, forcing her to look at him. "You are not a whore, and you're not cheap or beat either. You're the most gorgeous woman in the world who was put in the absolute ugliest situation."

"God, I wish that was true," Brooke whispered, and her voice cracked slowly. Lucas felt his heart break as he watched her. This never should have happened to her. He should have been there to begin with. "And this is only half of it."

"There's more?"

Brooke nodded slowly and winced as she removed her top completely, leaving her standing before him in a see-through lace black bra. She noticed his eyes linger sadly on it for a moment; she knew it had been his favorite piece of her lingerie.

"I make sure to never have this one on," she explained suddenly. "Just so you know."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he murmured, his eyes transfixed on her bruised body. He could see the bruises on her breasts from the lace, he could see her ribs fighting to burst from her skin. He swallowed the lump in his throat and croaked out, "Are there any more?"

Brooke nodded sadly, stepping out of her skirt and peeling off her black tights. Lucas's hand went to his mouth. There were undeniable handprint shaped bruises on the inside of her thighs, and it made his stomach churn. Brooke saw his apparent disgust and grabbed at her clothes desperately, turning to leave.

She was stopped suddenly as Lucas spun her around. She landed unexpectedly in his arms. His touch was gentle, as if he was terrified that she might crumble into tiny pieces if he applied too much pressure.

He pulled away from her just far enough to be able to look into her eyes, keeping his hands on her. He could feel chills erupting over her skin and hoped that it was in a good way and not out of fear.

"You are beautiful," Lucas said sincerely. "You are gorgeous. You are intelligent. And brave. And loyal. You are so funny and sweet and fun. There is nothing about you, not a single thing on earth, that I would change about you, Brooke."

She stared up at him in shock, and although she was still relatively high, he could see clarity beginning to form behind her eyes. For the first time in months, he saw an emotion in them; he could see gratitude staring up at him.

"I'm really tired," Brooke finally responded. Lucas understood; he was sure Brooke was far from ready to be romantic with him. He nodded and lifted her up softly, smiling as she let out a characteristic little squeal. It always made him happy to see small snippets of the cheery brunette he had fallen in love with. Lucas nudged the bedroom door open with his shoulder, managing to clumsily pull the blankets down with one hand before he gently laid her down, covering her up.

"Get some rest, Brooke. You're safe here."

He turned to go but was stopped by her voice. She spoke quietly and so cautiously that Lucas almost didn't hear her.

"Luke?"

"Yeah, pretty girl?"

"Could you-could you lay in here with me?" she asked, and suddenly she looked so vulnerable and so young that Lucas just wanted to tear down the world if it meant making her strong again. "You don't-you don't have to if you don't want to, I understand, I can just-"

"Brooke," he cut her off with an affectionate chuckle. "Of course I will. I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

He kicked off his jeans and slid in beside her, making sure to keep a couple of inches between their shoulders as they both stared up at the ceiling. Just months ago, they would have been completely tangled up in each other if they had a cabin in the woods all to themselves. Brooke would have made a comment somewhere along the lines of, "well, we can be as loud as we want here, broody boy" with a saucy little wink as she sauntered into the house. He would have had his shirt off before the front door was even closed. They probably wouldn't even eat all weekend, they would have been so wrapped up in each other.

"Luke?"

"Mhm?"

"Did you really mean those things you just said about me?"

"Of course I do," Lucas said gently, turning his head to face her. To his surprise she was all ready facing him. "I know it's hard for you to believe those things right now, but they're all true."

"They're not true," Brooke said with a little shrug, "but at least you think they are, and that's enough for me."

"Brooke, why did you hide all of this from us?" Lucas asked suddenly once they had descended back into silence.

She thought for a moment before settling on an answer. "I don't like you guys to see me this way. Vulnerable."

"Oh, Brooke," Lucas sighed, unable to help himself as he cupped her cheek in his hand. "That's how I always see you. I think it's kind of beautiful."

She closed her eyes, leaning into his palm and he heard her speak, barely even a whisper. "God, Lucas, I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, pretty girl."


	9. Chapter 9

"We're fine, Hales," Lucas repeated for what felt like the tenth time into the phone. "She's asleep right now. Yes, that's why I'm trying to be quiet. No, I'm in the kitchen. Yes, I'm making food. No, Haley, it's not cereal."

"No," Brooke's sleepy voice mumbled from the open door. "No. No, please. Stop it. Don't-I don't want to-no! PLEASE! NO! NO, PLEASE!"

"Hales, I need to go, she's freaking out."

Without any further explanation, Lucas rushed into the bedroom to find Brooke thrashing around desperately, tangled in the sheets.

"Honey," Lucas assured her, crawling slowly beside her and gently taking her hands in his to stop their movements. "Brooke, sweetie, wake up. It's Lucas. You're safe."

Her eyes snapped open and she suddenly swung her legs over him suddenly, rendering him unable to move.

"Brooke! It's Lucas," he panted. He had no idea that tiny Brooke Davis could be so very strong. And so very fast.

"Sorry," she murmured sheepishly, slowly releasing her hold on him and crawling up toward the headboard.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. He shook his head at himself. "That was a dumb question."

Brooke cracked a small smile. "What else are you supposed to say, Luke?"

"True," the blonde smiled back. "I'm in the middle of cooking. Do you want to stay here or come with me?"

"I'll just stay here," Brooke said softly, sinking back into the pillows.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Brooke affirmed. "I don't feel very well. Like I said earlier, withdrawals."

"Let me know if I can get you anything, okay?"

Brooke nodded and watched him go with a small sigh. He was being so great to her, and Nathan had assured her that Lucas would never see her as damaged; regardless, she felt like she still was. She felt like if he knew in detail the things she had done, he would never look at her the same. That he would never want to touch her the way he used to or even look her in the eyes.

She could hear him in the kitchen, vaguely humming some angsty acoustic song that she had heard play in Peyton's room. He had rejected Peyton. He had outright had the opportunity to be with her and hadn't taken it, even when he had no reason to believe that Brooke was anything but a drug addicted slut. That had to mean something, she thought to herself.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked softly, scared to wake her as he re-entered the room some time later. She was asleep again, curled up facing the door. Her lips were pouted and he smiled at the familiar way her light breath was fluttering bits of her dark hair around her face. "Pretty girl, wake up. We need to get some food in you."

He went to touch her only to find that her skin was both clammy and scalding hot. He stepped back, surprised at first, before shaking her awake.

"Brooke, you're burning up."

"Withdrawals," she groaned. She was covered in goosebumps, her hands shaking. "I don't think I can eat, Luke."

"It might make you feel better."

Brooke closed her eyes, giving in as she attempted to stand. Lucas caught her deftly as her trembling legs gave out. Lucas shook his head worriedly, putting her back in bed.

"Forget the kitchen," he said. "I'll bring it in here. And my laptop, so you can watch a movie."

He hurried around the house, gathering everything he needed for a successful late night dinner in bed, setting up his laptop. He watched Brooke grin as the title came on the screen.

"Weird Science," she giggled, and for once she sounded uninhibited. "Come sit, broody. It's our movie."

He smiled at her, sitting beside her and trying to ignore the swooping sensation in his stomach everytime her bare skin brushed his. He listened to her giggle and quote the movie in her raspy voice despite the fact that her skin was still radiating heat from her fever and that her body seemed to be covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

"You okay, Cheery?" he asked softly halfway through the movie as he watched her clutch her head.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"You don't seem okay," Lucas said. "We can turn off the movie, you look like you could use some more sleep."

"No!" she burst out, panicked.

"Okay," Lucas replied slowly. "We won't turn off the movie, then."

"I just…I like this," Brooke said after a moment of silence. "I like just laying here with you, watching this. It feels like old times."

He smiled at her gently and was surprised to feel her fingers intertwine with his.

"Honestly, Luke, thank you so much," Brooke whispered.

"Of course," he replied. "Like I said, anything for you."

"I just don't get why."

"Why what?"

"Why you're willing to do anything for me," Brooke shrugged. Lucas chuckled lowly.

"You really don't get it it?"

Brooke shook her head back and forth and Lucas couldn't help but give her a crooked grin.

"I'm head over heels in love with you," he explained casually, brushing her bangs off of her feverish forehead. "That's what people that are in love do, Brooke."

He watched her lick her lips, a nervous habit he knew she had. She went to open her mouth to speak but snapped it shut again, closing her hazel eyes.

"Brooke, you don't have to say anything back," Lucas assured her. "I mean it. I just…I want you to know how I feel about you. I'm totally fine with just being your friend, that's cool, but I just think you should know that I am in love with you, that I never fell out of love with you. That I'm never going to."

"You say that now," Brooke mumbled, opening her eyes but averting them from his.

"What do you mean, Cheery?"

"You know the basics," she said numbly. "You know the bits and pieces, but you don't know all the things I've done. You would fall out of love with me very quickly."

"There isn't anything you can tell me that would change how I feel."

"You say that now," Brooke repeated.

"Try me," Lucas challenged. He saw her contemplate something, and whatever it was caused her eyes to darken.

"I guess I don't have much to lose."

"Don't say that."

"It's true," she shrugged. "I don't have much anymore. I got pretty used to you not being around for a while, I'll be fine."

"No one is leaving, Brooke," Lucas said fiercely. "Especially not me."

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, keeping them closed as she slowly began to speak. "The first few times, it was never sex. It was just everything else. Well, everything you can do to a man. They just wanted me to please them and that was it. The first time, I said I wouldn't do it, but he explained to me what would happen to my dad if I didn't, and for some sick, twisted reason, I love my dad. Even now."

"But then my dad started using me as a reward, too. If guys did a good job, he'd send them to my room. And that wasn't as bad, they were never hurtful or cruel and they never made me do anything too weird. I think most of them are just sad. They're young, mostly, and I think they're in over their heads just like me. This one guy, Ryan, came back from killing one of another mob's guys, and when he got sent to my room, he begged me to just listen to him talk. So we just laid together and I listened and it was okay."

"But it wasn't like that with my dad's suppliers, or with people he was trying to buy off. This one guy, he um…he tied me up for nearly two hours and just did…everything imaginable to me. It was horrible, and painful, but he'd smack me if I cried. It felt like assault."

"That is assault," Lucas growled, subconsciously reaching out and tightening his hands around Brooke's hips.

"Then there were the types that wanted to be tied up and dominated and whatever. That wasn't too bad either, just a lot of saying some weird shit and throwing them around. I just feel so fucking dirty, Lucas. I've had sex with all of these men. In all kinds of positions and ways and all of this shit and I'm just…I'm nothing. I'm nothing but that anymore."

"Brooke!" Lucas exclaimed, trying to catch up with her as she shakily made her way out of the room. "Where are you going? Come on, you need to rest."

"I should go," she said raspily. There was a sudden pounding on the door and Lucas tensed, shoving the shaking Brooke into the kitchen.

"Hide," he demanded.

"This is my problem," Brooke argued.

"It's our problem," he corrected. "And you're in no state to deal with this."

In jeans and a wife beater, he was at least more clothed than Brooke. She let out a trembling breath and nodded, slowly tip toeing into the kitchen as the knocking became louder and louder.

Lucas swung open the door, ready for a fight. He was shocked to find a young guy, maybe a few years older than himself, looking around worriedly.

"Brooke?" the guy yelled.

"Woah," Lucas warned, pushing him back. "You can't come in here. Who the hell are you?"

The guy ignored him, continuing to shout for Brooke. The brunette appeared suddenly, still just clad in her black lace lingerie.

"Ryan?"

"Brooke!" he exclaimed, running toward her and urgently putting his hands on her shoulders. "You need to run."

"What?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Your dad, he flipped out. He found out that people know. You've got to get out of here. I went to your friends' houses. Peyton is all ready on her way to Savannah, and Nathan and Haley are going to meet you two in Atlanta. You can either go to Savannah from there, or you can go somewhere else. Take this."

He handed her a duffle bag and pressed a hard kiss on her forehead. "Get yourself out of here, Brooke."

"Ryan," Brooke called desperately as he turned to leave. "What about you? He has to know you've warned me-"

"I'll be fine," he cut her off. "I really will."

The two shared a look that Lucas found it difficult to describe. It was the kind of look that only two people who had seen too much together could share. Brooke nodded resolutely.

"Good luck, Brooke."

With that, he was gone, leaving Lucas staring at the open duffle bag at Brooke's feet, containing thousands upon thousands of dollars in cash and even more in drugs.

"You heard him," Brooke snapped. "Let's get a move on."

And that is how Lucas found himself in the passenger seat of Brooke's bug as she drove at a ridiculously dangerous velocity toward Atlanta, Georgia.


	10. Chapter 10

Lucas awoke hours later to Brooke shaking him, nodding toward Nathan and Haley's car in a Georgia gas station. He rubbed his bleary eyes and followed the brunette toward their friends.

"We need to get to Savannah," Brooke said immediately. "I want to make sure that Peyton is safe."

Nathan nodded his agreement. "They know both of our cars."

"Hey!" Brooke suddenly exclaimed, jogging over to a couple of boys about their age, who were about to pile into a black SUV. "Boys, can I ask you for a favor?"

Lucas grimaced as one in a hat looked her up and down suggestively. "If I can ask you for one."

Brooke grinned and fished into her purse, throwing a wad of cash at him. "Ten thousand bucks and both of those cars for this SUV."

He blinked at her, obviously confused. His companion threw her the keys, grabbing his things out of the front seat. "You bet, sweetie."

She grinned and jerked her head toward the SUV, Lucas gathering their things. When the four had packed up their new getaway vehicle, stopping in the gas station convenience store for snacks and drinks, they were once again on the road. Lucas was driving this time, and kept glancing in the back seat at Brooke, who was morosely staring out of the window.

"You okay, Brooke?"

"Look what I got you into," Brooke muttered darkly. "All of you."

"We're in this together," Haley insisted from beside her. "Whether you like it or not, we are."

"Yeah, well, I don't. I don't like it at all."

"Eventually you're going to have to accept it," Nathan said with a shrug from the front seat. "We love you, Davis, and we're not letting you go that easy."

Brooke managed a small smile. "I really don't mean to seem ungrateful, it's just…"

"Hard," Lucas finished for her with a soft smile. "It's hard for you to accept help. We all know that about you. But we're going to force you to accept our help whether you like it or not."

'There seems to be a lot of me being forced into things I don't like."

"Yep," Haley chirped brightly, getting a small giggle out of her brunette friend. "Only cause we love you."

"Yeah, yeah," Brooke mumbled, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward into what could have been a smile.

Brooke screeched as they pulled into Savannah hours later, recognizing Peyton's Comet on the street. She practically bolted from the car, dashing into the restaurant that it was parked out front of. She found Peyton sitting at the bar, chatting with a familiar brunette.

"P. Sawyer!" Brooke shouted, and half the bar turned to stare at her. Peyton beamed at the use of the familiar nickname.

"B. Davis," Peyton sighed in relief, hugging her brunette friend tightly. "You're okay."

Brooke nodded. "You are, too?"

"Absolutely," Peyton reassured her firmly.

"Hi Jake," Brooke said awkwardly, offering him a small wave.

"The whole gang is here!" Jake laughed excitedly. "Peyton didn't tell me you were all coming down!"

"Well, Brooke was interested in the college too," Peyton said pointedly, widening her eyes at her friends. All four of them mumbled their agreement about colleges. Luckily Jake was too happy to see them to see how unconvincing they were being.

"We have three hotel rooms just down the road," Peyton told them. She mumbled to Brooke, lowering her voice so Jake couldn't hear. "Ryan set it up, he just called me off of a restricted number before you guys got here."

Brooke swallowed hard and nodded. "We should keep moving tomorrow."

Peyton glanced at Jake remorsefully and Brooke felt a stab of guilt at the pain she was causing her friend. Peyton nodded resolutely. "I agree."

"Peyton, I'm sorry."

"Brooke," Peyton said firmly. "It has been twelve years of absolute madness between us. I think we're above apologies at this point."

This helped Brooke a little bit as she sunk into a bar stool in exhaustion, Lucas joining her to her right as she instinctively leaned her head on him, yawning.

"How about we get you back to the hotel?" Lucas asked gently. "You need to get some rest."

She had spent the majority of the car ride resisting the urge to puke. She had been remarkably ashamed to explain the cause of her fever, chills, and shaking to Nathan and Haley, but the two had simply brushed off her apologies and embarrassment, telling her to stop being ridiculous. There were no judgments between family.

"Maybe a drink would calm this," she said quietly, indicating her pale and drawn face and her shaking hands. Lucas looked hesitant but decided she would probably know better than he would. He almost laughed as she flashed her Gretchen ID to the bartender and ordered a whiskey.

"Damn, Davis, going hard," Jake whistled with raised eyebrows. She smirked at him.

"That's the only way I go, Jagielski," she teased.

"It's great to see you guys," Jake said with a grin. "And still happily together, I see."

Just as Lucas was about to correct him, he realized that Brooke wasn't. She was simply looking at him expectantly, as if she was waiting for his reaction. He squinted his eyes at her as she gave him a little smile before wrapping her hand around her glass and taking a sip of the strong liquid. She didn't even flinch as the burning took over her throat and stomach. It was a welcome feeling.

An hour later, Brooke had tossed back five more drinks and was hunched over the bar. Jake raised his eyebrows at the incoherent brunette, dressed in a big white t-shirt and fishnet stockings with visible garter belts.

"Brooke is uh, different," he pointed out cautiously.

"Yeah," Peyton said sadly. "Things aren't going so well back home."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, crinkling his brow.

"Brooke is in trouble," Peyton explained vaguely, taking a sip out of her beer.

"Like, the trouble you were in kind of trouble?" he asked, referencing her brief experimentation with cocaine.

"Something like that," Peyton said with a twisted smile, glancing down the bar at her best friend, who was standing sloppily and making her way over to the jukebox.

"We should get her to bed soon," Haley said worriedly.

Peyton shook her head with a small laugh. "She'll have a mother of a hangover if we don't let her sober up a little. I know Brooke when she drinks, and I know her the next day. Trust me, the Brookie Monster comes out to play with a bad hangover."

Lucas chuckled lowly as he watched her dance around with her arms in the air to some classic rock song.

"Look at her," Nathan grinned. "She almost looks like old Brooke at a party, huh?"

"Almost," Haley agreed. "Minus the fact that her legs are the size of pencils."

"Remind me to get some food in her before we put her to bed," Peyton said.

"So, y'all gonna tell me why you're actually here?' Jake said suddenly. "I know it sure as hell has nothing to do with college. The trouble that Brooke's in seems more likely. Especially since I know Brooke has no interest in going to college in the south."

"What?" Peyton tried to laugh off. "She wants to stay somewhat close to Tree Hill."

Jake looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Please, Peyton. Brooke has wanted to move to Los Angeles or New York since she was six."

"She has?" Lucas asked, suddenly struck with how little he knew about the brunette spinning in dizzying circles in the corner. If she had always wanted to live in Los Angeles, why hadn't she gone with her parents when they went? Sure, he had made it possible for her to stay, but he wouldn't have if he though that's where she wanted to be…

Peyton, on the other hand, looked unsurprised. She cursed under her breath at being caught, surprised her ex-boyfriend knew so much about her best friend. She then remembered that Brooke is a talker and recalled that Brooke had often met up with Jake for coffee to spend time with him and Jenny. She had insisted on getting to know them when they became a big part of Peyton's life.

_Anyone who is important to you is important to me, P. Sawyer. You should know that by now. _

She smiled a bit at the memory, completely forgetting that Jake was staring at them all with suspicion.

He stood in slight frustration.

"I'll go ask Brooke."

Before they could stop him, he had approached the dancing brunette, grabbing her hand and twirling her. She leaned her head back, giggling, and there was a certain light in her eyes that surprised her friends. They hadn't seen her look that happy in a while. A surge of jealousy flooded both Lucas and Peyton, who watched with distinctly strange expressions. Haley rolled her eyes at the blondes.

"You two can never figure out what you want, can you?" she mumbled, annoyed. "Come on, Nate, let's dance!"

Nathan groaned but let his wife lead him onto the dance floor, where Jake was quietly speaking to Brooke as the song became slow.

"So what's really up, Brooke?"

"Hm?" she asked, leaning into him. He chuckled a little at how childish she seemed in that moment despite her thickly lined eyes and revealing clothing. He narrowed his eyes at a couple of creepy looking guys at a booth that were eyeing her legs, and they looked away.

"I'm not stupid, Davis. I know something more is going on here than you wanting to check out colleges. What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?"

"My dad got me into it," she mumbled defensively, too drunk to realize what she was telling him. "I didn't do it."

"Didn't do what?"

"Join the damn mob," she grumbled angrily. "I wish he never did. I would trade all the money and shit from when I was a kid just to have a normal dad who cares about me and a mom who loves me."

"Oh, Brooke," he whispered, stunned, dropping a chaste kiss to the top of her head. He was unaware of the two blondes watching jealously from the bar, downing their beers in silence.

She looked up at him suddenly with wide eyes. "You cannot tell anyone. Oh my God, if he finds out you know, he's going to come after you and-and-Jenny!"

"Brooke," Jake said softly, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "I barely know anything, and no one will find out I know anything, okay? It's all okay."

She shook her head passionately. "No. I've put you all in danger and I can't let this get any worse. I need to go."

She turned on the heels of her combat boots and worked her way through the crowded bar.

"BROOKE!" Jake shouted after her, trying to keep sight of her. He pushed his way through the crowd, but by the time he reached the doors, the brunette had disappeared into the night.

"What the hell?" Lucas half-panted as he appeared at Jake's side. "What was that?"

"She freaked out," Jake said with a sad shake of his head. "We need to find her, we're close to the not-so-safe parts of town, and knowing Brooke, she'll find her way there."

"Damn it," Lucas muttered, his jaw clenched. He wanted to blame Jake for Brooke's running off, but he knew he couldn't. She had been running off for months.

Haley, Nathan, and Peyton came outside next. "I settled the tab," Nathan said. "Let's go find her, then."

"Should we split up?" Peyton asked. "We might find her faster that way."

"Yeah, but only Jake knows his way around," Haley pointed out. "The last thing we need is more of us getting lost. Besides, with the…circumstances, safety in numbers can't hurt."

"Brooke told me," Jake said. "Not much, of course. But vaguely. That's why she took off. She thinks she's put too many people in danger."

The five of them set off, following Jake's lead into the Savannah night. Two hours went by of popping into every establishment that was still open, asking around for the brunette, who at this point looked very distinct given her style.

"Where the fuck could she be?" Lucas ground out between clenched teeth.

"Try to go easy on her," Haley said gently. "She's been through a lot."

"I know," Lucas sighed, resigned, as his best friend pulled him into a hug. "This is just so damn hard, Haley. I told her I would save her, and I'm trying, but I feel like I just can't."

"We'll save her, Luke," Haley said genuinely, and Lucas couldn't help but smile at the sincere look on her face.

"Thanks, Hales."

"Anytime, bud."

"Hey guys!" Jake called from up ahead, where he had gone into another bar. They were now in a sketchy part of town, and so he had gone in with Nathan while Lucas stayed with Haley and Peyton on the corner, where it was more well lit. "We found her!"

Lucas, Haley, and Peyton exchanged glances before walking toward the run-down establishment. They entered and nearly gagged at the smell of sweat, vomit, and liquor. But there was Brooke, up on top of the bar amongst all of these seedy, skeezy people, dancing like it was half time at a Ravens game.

"Brooke!" Peyton called. "Come on, girlie, let's get you home!" 

"PEYTON!" Brooke squealed. It was obvious she had consumed more alcohol since

they had last seen her, and there was money stuck in her boots by the patrons of the bar. "Get your scrawny ass up here!" 

Lucas, Jake, and Nathan all opened their mouths to protest, but Peyton quieted them with her hand. "I'll humor her for a minute. This will be the easiest way. A drunk Brooke is a stubborn Brooke, and I don't want to fight with her in front of these people. They'll kick your asses to keep her on that bar."

Peyton let her friend clumsily pull her onto the bar, accepting a shot of what tasted like whiskey from the bar tender. There was no way the fairly reserved blonde was going to be able to do this without it.

The two best friends gyrated around in a familiar routine and Peyton shrugged off her leather jacket, throwing it to Jake and leaving her clad in a white tank top. She tried to ignore the look her was giving her and closed her eyes, joining Brooke in flipping their hair and sliding down the bar.

Brooke grabbed her by the face, giggling wildly. "Peyton, this is so fun!"

"Yeah!" Peyton grinned back, and she found that she was being honest. "But we should head back, don'tcha think? We've got a long day tomorrow!" 

"You're right," Brooke admitted suddenly, looking behind Peyton. "We need to go. Now."

"What?"

Peyton tried to catch Brooke, but the girl had hopped off of the bar and once again wound her way through the crowd into the street. This time, however, her friends were right behind her, Peyton joining them last. It had been harder to get off the bar than she thought, and she was surprised at Brooke's agility in her drunken state.

They all skidded into the street, surprised as Brooke turned around with wild, furious eyes.

"Lucas, move!" she shouted suddenly. The group stood on the sidewalk, Brooke in the middle of the street, the bar door behind them. Lucas was closest to the door, his friends all off to his side. He turned behind him where she was staring to find several large men in suits, one holding a gun out in front of him.

"Aw," he mocked. "Is this the one, princess?"

"Shut up," Brooke said through gritted teeth.

"Uncle Vince, Lucas wants Peyton and I know it but I love him too much to just let him go," the man continued to mock. Lucas shut his eyes tightly, both in fear and in pain at what the man was saying.

"Vince, shut the fuck up," Brooke said, her voice low but menacing. She didn't seem so drunk anymore. She certainly was no longer giggling.

"What, Brooke? Does he not know you're still pathetically pining after him?"

"Shut up, Vince," Brooke said warningly.

"Or what? What are you gonna do, pumpkin?"

"What I've wanted to do from the first second you laid a fucking hand on me," Brooke said, walking slowly toward him. "Come here, Vince. Or are you and your little boyfriends scared?"

"Boyfriends?" Vince scoffed, taking a step toward her. They had now met in the middle of the street, and her friends watched with baited breath. Peyton snatched Jake's hand in her own as she watched the man level the gun on Brooke's forehead as Haley let out a strangled whimper, hiding her face in her husband's shoulder and gripping onto Lucas's forearm for dear life.

"Don't think I don't remember what the three of you wanted to do in my bedroom," Brooke hissed, and before anyone could even blink, she had been hit hard across the face by one of the other men.

"Shut up, bitch!" 

"Hey!" Vince barked, and Brooke looked at him with a humorless laugh, spitting out blood onto the street.

"What, _Uncle Vince, _now you care?"

"Brookie, baby, you know I always cared about ya," the man said. "You've been like my own since you were a little kid!"

"Until you fucked me," Brooke spat, and Haley tightened her grip on Lucas, feeling him shift under her fingers. "Get your fucking gun out of my face and go back to where you belong."

"I can't leave without you, Brooke," the man said, and Lucas could imagine the twisted smile on the man's face as he said it. "Just come with me right now, and nobody gets hurt."

"Nobody?" Brooke asked with raised, doubtful eyebrows. "You mean Ryan and I won't be punished at all?"

"Don't fuckin' talk about Ryan!" Vince shouted, cocking the gun. Lucas made a move and Nathan grabbed him, hauling him back.

"Brooke!" Lucas yelled.

"Oh!" Vince exclaimed in amusement. "Maybe your prince loves you after all, Brookie Bear! I hear my good for nothing son of a bitch son does, too. Who's it gonna be, baby? Lucas Scott or Ryan Deluca?"

Brooke moved fast, reaching under her shirt into her tiny denim shorts that had been covered by her tee, pulling a small gun of her own out and aiming it in his face. The two stood at a standstill.

"Stay away from both of them."

"Take your pick, Brooke," Vince ground out. "It's Ryan or Lucas."

Brooke shook her head. "I'm not doing that."

"I've heard that before," the man next to Vince chortled.

Without even glancing over, Brooke cocked the gun and shot a bullet into his foot without hesitation. Her friends screamed and she didn't have the heart to look at them.

"Get up, Ron!" Vince snapped, hauling his companion up with one hand. Brooke took this to her advantage and used her forearm to knock the gun out of his hand, snatching it before he had a chance to move for it.

She stood in the middle of the street, pointing both guns at them, and swallowed hard. Ron and the other man, who she remembered being named Sam, had both pulled their guns now. It was two-on-two, gun wise, and Brooke could taste the blood in her mouth.

"Come with us, Brooke," Vince said angrily. "Get in the damn car."

"I'll come with you if you guarantee that neither my friends nor Ryan will be touched," Brooke conceded, her expression stony. Her friends all exchanged nervous glances, but Peyton gave them a sharp shake of her head, indicating them to remain silent.

"You know I can't promise that, Brooke."

"Fine," she spat. "Then looks like you're not getting anyone, boys."

Again, without blinking, she fired two shots at the men, this time hitting the other two right in the knee caps. They fell to the ground and Brooke hit Sam with one more bullet in the leg as an insurance policy.

"By the way, Vince," Brooke said as she gathered their guns off the ground, "I'm not your fuckin' baby."

She spun on her heel and walked off down the street, shoving the guns in her handbag. Her friends took off after her in the night, too afraid to look at the fallen men behind them.

**I know it's been a while! I hope this long update is satisfactory **


	11. Chapter 11

Her friends finally caught up to her a few blocks away.

"Brooke!" Lucas called out, grabbing her around the waist when it seemed he could not get ahold of her any other way. She flailed around, but he was strong enough to keep a hold of her. "Brooke, calm the fuck down!"

She finally touched her feet back on the ground and pushed his chest. He stumbled back a step but stood his ground.

"You have no idea what just happened!"

"Because you took off like a bat out of hell!" he argued back. He watched his friends step back. Good. This was between him and Brooke. All of this felt like it was between him and Brooke and that his friends were simply along for the ride.

"That was Ryan's dad!" Brooke shrieked. "He's making me choose! And I just royally pissed him off by fucking shooting him!"

"Brooke, you need to calm down," Lucas insisted as he watched her thin body shake with anger and fear. Her eyes were darting around, and he wasn't sure if it was a drug induced paranoia or panic. He supposed it was a little bit of both.

"I can't," she ground out between gritted teeth. "That man was like an uncle to me and he fucking raped me! He's threatening to kill his own son! Or you! I don't know how the hell you could possibly tell me to be calm right now, Lucas!"

"Because you can't come up with any kind of plan like this!" Lucas yelled back, gesturing wildly at her. "Take a few deep breaths and like I said, calm the fuck down!"

His friends seemed surprised and a little appalled at the way he was speaking to her, but he knew Brooke. If he didn't call her on her behavior as blatantly as possible, she would never listen to him.

She glared at him but took a deep breath anyway, shutting her eyes. "I need a cigarette."

Lucas nodded and pulled the pack out of his pocket he had been carrying around for her. He handed her one and a lighter, lighting it for her and watching her breath in deeply, exhaling slowly and leaning her head back.

"Okay," she sighed as the head high hit her and she was able to calm slightly. "Game plan time. We need to go check on Jenny, first of all."

Jake nodded stoicly. "I'll go right now. We probably shouldn't be traveling in a group this large."

Brooke nodded sharply in response. "Take Peyton."

"Brooke, I'm not leaving you."

"Peyton, go."

"Brooke-"

"Peyton, I said go!" Brooke yelled. The blonde looked at her with wide, hurt green eyes. Brooke sighed and walked over to her, taking her by the shoulders.

"Look, P. Sawyer, I love you. And this, here in Savannah, this is what you dreamed of. And I think you should stay here for a while until I sort this out, okay? It will keep everyone safer."

Peyton seemed to consider this, biting her lip before finally nodding. She hugged Brooke fiercely.

"I love you, B. Davis."

Brooke nodded and watched her walk away with Jake, the brunette putting a comforting arm around her blonde best friend. She smiled to herself a little before pulling herself back to the present.

"I need to find Ryan," Brooke insisted.

"Brooke, I don't think he would want you to do that."

"I don't give a shit what he wants," Brooke growled. "I'm finding him."

"Don't you think that's just going to make it worse?" Lucas asked. "If he's coming after me and Ryan, don't you think you're better off not having both of us in one damn place?"

She stopped, groaning. "Okay. You're right. But I need to at least get ahold of him and warn him."

"His dad is going to be down for at least a few hours," Lucas said logically. "And that's if he's got superhuman strength, which I'm going to assume he doesn't. The best thing we can do right now is take these motel keys Peyton got us and go get some rest before we figure out where the hell to go from here."

Brooke sunk down to the curb, putting her head in her hands. Nathan, Lucas, and Haley all watched her silently as she quietly stood.

"Fine. Let's go."

Lucas led the way back to their car and drove them to the motel, surprised that he was able to find it in his current state of shock. Nathan and Haley took one key, labeled room 7, and retired immediately to bed. Lucas and Brooke sat in the car for a minute, the silence stifling.

"So, Ryan has feelings for you," Lucas spoke suddenly. There was no jealousy in his voice, simply fact.

Brooke nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"And do you have feelings for him?"

"I don't know," Brooke said, before shaking her head. "No. I mean, I don't know. We've been through a lot together, he and I. And sometimes I think that confuses us both. To be honest, I'm not so sure he has actual feelings for me, either."

"He's putting his life on the line for you. That says something."

"So are you."

Lucas laughed a little. "And I've been completely in love with you for a year, Brooke."

She clammed up a little at that, getting out of the car. "Let's go to bed."

"Okay," he said softly, taking their bags and following her to room number 9.

When they entered it, they found one large bed. Brooke rolled her eyes. "Funny, Sawyer."

"Oh come on," Lucas said. "Not as if we weren't just in the same two nights ago."

Brooke shook her head, astounded that just two nights ago, she had felt so close to freedom. How stupid she had been. She had even been stupid enough to consider accepting Lucas as her boyfriend once again.

Brooke nodded stiffly and stripped her clothes off without warning, climbing into the uncomfortable bed and turning with her back toward him. She heard him heave a deep sigh before he shuffled around, obviously undressing as well. He climbed in next to her and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Screw this," he said suddenly, and she was shocked when he rolled her over, his arms resting on either side of her head. He leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. It was forceful, but not overly so, and she was surprised that she didn't feel panic given her fairly recent past of abuse. She tried to remain motionless underneath him, but he was stirring something in her that she thought had died; she was feeling something for the first time in months. Disregarding her better judgement, she reached up to wrap her arms around him, returning the kiss and pulling him closer to her.

They kissed furiously for several minutes before it became obvious that they needed air. Both pulled away, panting, and Lucas looked at her tentatively, still poised above her.

"Brooke-"

"Please, don't talk."

"Okay."

He rolled over onto his back again, his palms buried in his eyes in frustration. He could feel Brooke hovering near him cautiously. He heard her stand, rustling the sheets. Her feet padded into the bathroom, and he heard the shower turning on. He removed his hands from his eyes just in time to see her bra fling into the room.

"You coming or what?"

He blinked in confusion, standing and walking into the small bathroom. The light flickered over her, but there she was, standing naked before him. He ran his eyes over her body. Despite her malnourishment, she still looked beautiful. He groaned.

"Brooke, don't do this to me."

"For a guy who's in love with me, you sure have a lot of complaints about me being naked," she shot back, getting in the shower. He groaned again, dropping his boxers and getting in after her.

"It's not that," he insisted, keeping his distance and trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks as she looked him over. "You're just really playing with my heart here, Brooke. You've got to make your choice. You either want me or you don't. Either way, I'm going to be here until this thing's over, but I'll just be here as your friend and that's it. But this is it. Right now. Decide."

She looked shocked at his demand, her hazel eyes wide under the stream of the shower.

"I can't make that decision right now."

He shrugged. "That's decision enough for me."

He got out and put his boxers back on, climbing back in bed with his back to the bathroom. He heard Brooke emerge sometime later and put on a big T-shirt, getting in bed next to him. He remained still, his eyes closed, feeling her hovering over his face for a moment before laying back down.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into the darkness, obviously taking him to be asleep. "I love you so much, Lucas. But I just can't let you risk your life for me. I'm broken. I'm damaged. And one day you'll realize that."

She sniffled and he had to physically restrain himself from rolling over as he realized she was crying. He allowed her to continue.

"But knowing you're giving up on us breaks my heart. I wish I could give you what you want, but I just don't think I can."

"But you can," he murmured, and he heard her gasp and sit up. He rolled over and put an arm over her stomach. "Brooke, I know what I'm getting into, okay? I know what you've been through and I'm sorry, but I don't see you as broken or damaged. I don't know what I have to do to prove to you that I love you no matter what happens to you."

She shut her eyes. "I can't believe you heard that."

"I needed to hear it, Brooke. I needed to know that you still care for me at all, because you're pretty convincing at your act."

"Of course I care about you," she snapped.

"Like I said, you're convincing."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"I want to be with you," Lucas said in the darkness. "And you want to be with me. It's that simple, and I know you'll say that it's not, but it is. So what's it gonna be, Brooke?"

"Final decision?" she asked sheepishly.

"Final decision," he said confidently, glad his voice wasn't shaking in the same way his hands were.

"Okay," she said suddenly with a deep breath.

"Okay?"

"Okay," she said, and suddenly she was smiling, a real smile. He hadn't seen it in so long he nearly didn't recognize her anymore. "Okay, boyfriend."

"Welcome back, pretty girl," he grinned, pulling her into a kiss. She kissed him back with a contented sigh.

"Don't make me regret this by getting yourself hurt," she said warningly. "So much as a hair on your head is harmed and I'm running."

He rolled his eyes but couldn't keep the grin off of his face as she snuggled into his neck. "Same goes for you, babe."

He was surprised when he awoke and found her still next to him. Part of him thought she would be gone, or that it had been dream. She smiled sleepily at him, and despite their circumstances, he was happy.


End file.
